


Hold Me While You Wait

by Amikotsu



Series: Whumptober Prompts [9]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Awkward Sexual Situations, Complicated Relationships, Denial of Feelings, Don't Judge Me, Fix-It of Sorts, Friends to Lovers, Late Night Writing, M/M, Nightmares, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Older Man/Younger Man, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Past Relationship(s), Past Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Stitches, Time Travel, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, War, Whumptober
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-12-08 00:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20984888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amikotsu/pseuds/Amikotsu
Summary: Obito and Naruto have lost everything. Faced with death, they decide to risk their lives in an attempt to right past wrongs. They start from rock bottom and head out on a journey to prevent the world from ever seeing the Fourth Shinobi World War.





	1. Time is a Construct?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dieseldevi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dieseldevi/gifts).

> This isn't a popular pairing, so I know I'm taking a big risk posting this. The prompts are "nightmare" and "stitches" but I'm really stretching for nightmare with this. Either way, this is what I wrote.

War devoured him. Little by little, piece by piece, he forgot himself. All of his ideals. What it meant to live and breathe. War stripped him of his humanity, wearing him down until he felt like a dried up husk of his former self. He fought monsters parading as men. He fought a goddess. And at the end, underneath the underneath, he saw broken people, each one a little more worn, a little more battered, a little more bruised. He won, until he didn't. The corpses piled up, the proverbial walls constructed of human remains. At first, they were nameless, faceless, just pieces lost in a game of strategy, perseverance, and risk. He was as ruthless as he was reckless, and it shouldn't have been a surprise. Backed into a corner, beaten down by loss after loss, he did what he had to just to survive. The numbers dwindled, dipping dangerously low, and comrade after comrade became corpse after corpse. Oh how the walls rose. Near the end, he longed for death, the final symphony in a production he hadn't wanted, one they hadn't needed. He wanted to blame someone, to pick a defining moment when the tides had turned and a rise quickly became a descent, but there were too many defining moments. The trail led back beyond the days of Hashirama and Madara, before Konoha grew and prospered. When the last shinobi looked to him for guidance, he hadn't had the heart left to admit the truth. They'd run out of options. Their final losses, Sakura and Sasuke, had crippled them. He and Obito had no chance. He saw their lives stretched out before them in hours, maybe days, but nothing more. 

Naruto hated looking into Obito's eyes, one sharingan, one rinnegan, and seeing his own blue eyes reflected. He saw a man with nothing left to give. He embraced Obito, reveling in the feeling of another beating heart, a warm exchange that he hadn't experienced in months. He thought it an honor to die with the Uchiha, a man redeemed through numerous words and actions. Seated around the tiny fire in the remains of what had once been their camp, their headquarters, Naruto reflected on his life. He knew suffering, hardship, loss; he knew friendship, love, compassion. Nineteen was too young to die, but Obito wasn't that old either. Naruto didn't know why they bothered sharing a meal of ration bars and a bottle of plum wine that Obito had confiscated from the body of a Kirigakure nin. They were celebrating, welcoming a final chapter to the stories of their lives. The food was awful, the wine watered down, but it was the best that they could do, the best of what they had left. Neither man knew what to say, so they said nothing. They passed the bottle back and forth, drinking until the wine was gone, toasting to the idea of the afterlife, of finally getting something right. And then Obito stared across the dying fire, lips pursed, brows furrowed. Naruto snorted at the expression, then he gave the empty bottle a little shake, as if begging for another taste. 

"What if we could change things," Obito said, words he must have repeated a dozen times in the past several hours. Naruto had to wonder about the man's sobriety. "I mean it. Time is a construct. This place is just a dimension, one of many, some we've seen and others we haven't. What if we could _change_ things?"

"What are you on about?" Naruto frowned at his companion, the only thing, the only one, keeping him going. Obito tugged at white strands, frustration evident from the mess his hands left behind. "Oi, are you drunk off a little wine?"

"What if I could send us back in time? What if that's a possibility? We have explored dimensions, Naruto. Time travel should be a walk in the park. What have we got to lose? We're going to die anyway," Obito spoke, his last words mumbled and tinged with anger. Obito had not handled Kakashi's death well. Naruto had found the man weeping over Kakashi's corpse, long after limbs had gone stiff and cold. That day, Obito had single-handedly destroyed an army of Zetsu. Naruto could never forget the slaughter. "I'd much rather go out on my own terms."

Naruto wiped sweaty hands on the thighs of his black pants, then he licked his chapped lips. His teeth closed down on his lower lip, and he nibbled at the dry skin. They were going to die. He'd accepted that; Obito had accepted that. What if they could change things? He could feel the hope existing, just out of reach. When had he last felt that way? Was it before or after he'd lost most of his friends? Before. Definitely before. Time travel seemed impossible, but they found themselves already facing the impossible. Before the war, over two years ago, he would have laughed at the idea of facing Kaguya, yet there they were, fighting a bringer of destruction. What did they have to lose? They seemed ready to throw their lives away on a suicide run. They weren't all there -- Naruto knew that, as he'd found Obito conversing with Rin and Kakashi when no one was there. Their sanity had slipped right through their fingers, and maybe that was why Naruto had chosen to kiss the man all those weeks ago. They were desperate. They were needy. Naruto had needed to remind himself that he wasn't dead. Obito had needed someone, something. They'd never really talked about it. It was something that had happened over and over again, lips colliding, fingers exploring, and then nothing. What was there to say? What if they could change things? 

"Let's say I believe we have a chance. How are you going to make that happen? We don't have a magic seal. Kaguya isn't going to spirit us away. This isn't a case where we can easily fix it, like changing a light bulb." 

"I think I can use my sharingan and the rinnegan to get us there. It's just transporting us to another place. The past is a place, a destination." Obito stared at the flickering flames until the fire was nothing more than an orange glow and tiny wisps of smoke. Naruto believed in him. It was scary to admit. "I'm tired, Naruto, tired of fighting, tired of running. What happens when I'm gone? What are you going to do?"

Naruto grunted, as if the sound were answer enough. He'd always thought they'd die together. He had Kurama, but he hadn't heard from the fox in days. He'd taken to ignoring the voice, telling himself that the silence was what he deserved for failing. He had failed so often, so many times, that he forgot that they'd ever won. What would he do without Obito? How would he survive on his own? He didn't know. He considered ending his own life, turning himself into a suicide bomber to take out as many Zetsu as possible. But what did it matter? They'd already lost. He wondered if he'd have the guts to do such a thing. He didn't want to be alone. Naruto pushed himself off the ground and walked around to the other side of their fire pit, then he sank down to the ground beside Obito. Naruto took Obito's right hand and lightly squeezed, reassuring himself that he wasn't alone, that Obito was right there with him. 

"Alright. Let's try it," Naruto decided, a crooked smile on his face. Obito smiled too, though it was small and reeking of sadness. "Anywhere is better than here." Obito silently agreed. 

They moved so that they sat across from one another again, their knees touching, hands clasped. Naruto waited for the push and pull of kamui, so he wasn't surprised when he felt the world fade away. He waited to enter into Obito's dimension, but they bypassed the place. Naruto didn't know when he'd started transferring chakra to the older man. It had to be somewhere in the middle, when the only thing grounding Naruto was their clasped hands. Blood dribbled down Obito's cheeks, red trails a deep crimson against his pale flesh. Naruto wanted nothing more than to clean the blood away, to scrub until no trace remained. Instead, Naruto clenched his eyes shut and focused on not vomiting. At the back of his mind, Naruto heard Kurama demanding answers. What were they doing? Where were they going? Were they insane? Yes, they were insane. Naruto was giddy from the madness of it all. Obito needed to concentrate, needed to focus on their knees, their hands, their present, and their destination. And then they were free falling, their joined hands the only thing keeping them together. Naruto tightened his hold, sweaty palms clasping the man's hands so tight that Naruto wondered if they were simply one person. Obito groaned, and Naruto slowly opened his eyes and watched the man unravel. Eyes that had been open and bleeding closed. The scars on the right side of Obito's face looked darker, more prominent, and then Obito's hold on Naruto's hands completely disappeared. It was Naruto holding them together. 

"Obito! Open your eyes! Damn it, Obito! Listen to me! Come on! You can do this! Please!" Naruto brushed his thumbs over Obito's hands, the only comfort he could give the man, and then Naruto felt his stomach roll. Obito tipped backwards, and the darkness surrounding them suddenly seemed brighter. Naruto squeezed Obito's hands, one step away from crushing them. "Don't you _dare_ leave me like this, you bastard!"

Blood trickled from Obito's nose, cutting lines down over Obito's lips until the crimson liquid met his chin. Naruto panicked. He threw caution to the wind and threw all of his strength into one swift motion. He pulled Obito to himself and wrapped his arms around the man, cradling Obito in the way that Obito had once cradled Kakashi's corpse. Naruto called out for Kurama. He called on his biju for assistance. His friend. His partner. He received no answer. He tried to heal the wounds, but the blood wouldn't stop. Those eyes. Naruto cursed the eyes, the sharingan and rinnegan; he cursed so many things that he lost count. Obito reached up to touch Naruto's cheek, pale fingers leaving streaks and splotches of blood. 

"Just hang on! I'll figure something out, alright?"

Bright light blinded both of them, and then they fell from the blue sky, plummeting to the ground below. They hit the tree branches and Naruto turned to put his back toward the ground. He clutched Obito to his chest, trying to shield the injured man from the hard impact. They landed on the ground in a heap, limbs tangled, hummingbird heartbeats working in tandem. Naruto rested his head against the ground and started picking leaves and twigs from Obito's hair. Obito was breathing, fingers tangled in the remains of Naruto's white and red cloak. How many times had he sewn the thing back together? It was more dirt and blood than anything. Naruto shifted to rest Obito on the ground, then he forced himself to a seated position. His back ached, and he knew he'd either bruised and broken a rib or two, but they were in fairly good condition considering the fall. They shouldn't have survived. Naruto didn't recognize the collection of trees surrounding them, but they couldn't have been anywhere near where they started. The trees had branches that hung low, like weeping willows. The fog creeping across the ground had him thinking they were somewhere in Wave country or Water country.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and stared down at the blood smeared across his palm. He'd hit his head on the way down, enough to have spots dancing in his vision. He reached out for Kurama again, but he didn't get a reply. To the left, Obito managed to get onto his hands and knees, then he pivoted and fell back onto his bottom. His right eye was bloodshot, but the bleeding had stopped. They were alive. Naruto praised a higher power for their luck. Again, he reached out for Kurama; finding nothing, he adopted a pose for meditation and disappeared into himself to search for the fox. Everything was gone, the only sign of the fox a lingering well of bubbling chakra and claw marks. Naruto fell to his knees before some of the marks and ran his hand over the deep indentations. He remembered a swell in his chest. He remembered the chakra he'd given to Obito. Nothing made sense. Had Kaguya done something to him? Had she reached out to hurt him one last time? Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and ran a hand through his messy hair. He couldn't remember detecting her presence, nor the presence of Black Zetsu. 

Without Kurama, he should have been dead. That was what happened to jinchuriki when they lost their tailed beast. They died. Naruto ran his hands down his face, using much more force than necessary. When he left the space to return to Obito, he startled the man with a gasp. Obito turned to look at him, mismatched eyes staring directly into his soul. Naruto pressed his palms flat on the damp grass and tried to stand, but he fell back onto the ground, and then onto his back. He lay there, staring up at the grey clouds slowly overshadowing the blue sky. 

"Kurama is gone."

"How is that even possible?"

"I don't know, but he's gone. Something ripped him away. There were claw marks," Naruto explained, waving a hand to contrast with his apathy. He cared enough for a small gesture. Anything larger would have brought screaming and crying, and he didn't have the strength left for the meltdown. Obito turned toward him and started lifting Naruto's shirt to expose smooth skin. The seal was gone. "Wherever we are, we're in trouble."

"We'll figure something out. There has to be some way to fix this. I felt his chakra before the fall. No one else was with us," Obito rambled, fingertips creating grooves in the grass, down into the dirt. Naruto turned his head to look at the older man. They weren't helpless, but everything seemed hopeless. Naruto wondered if they'd even succeeded; he wondered if they were caught in a genjutsu. The _kai_ that followed changed nothing, the same as the next seven attempts to break out of the genjutsu that wasn't there. "It's real, Naruto," Obito spoke, his voice surprisingly soft. As if to prove his point, he smiled that small smile of his and pinched the back of Naruto's left hand.

Naruto let out a choked sob and covered his face with his hands. Birds sang in the trees, the rustling of leaves and feathers a foreign sound to him. Most of the animals had fled from Kaguya, leaving nothing but a barren landscape. Naruto had missed the sound, almost as much as he missed his friends, almost as much as he missed his dad. Obito had a flawed understanding of what it meant to comfort someone, born from years spent living as others, one foot already in the grave, but he tried. Obito patted Naruto's shoulder, whispering promises that things would be different, that he wouldn't leave Naruto, that they would do the _right_ thing, whatever that may be, and prevent the deaths of their friends and comrades. Naruto curled up on his side and made himself as small as possible. He hadn't had time to cry, not when he had claimed the title of Nanadaime, the last in a line of Hokage, not when they fought to survive. He told himself he wasn't alone. Obito had survived. Some good had already come from their recklessness. Naruto didn't know how long he lay there, breathing in time to the circles Obito rubbed on his back. When he steeled himself and forced himself up, Obito moved the hand from his back. 

"Do you have any idea where we are?"

"We're outside Numachi. It's a village built above a swampland. Isn't the name clever?"

"I've heard that name before. We're in the Land of Water?" At Naruto's question, Obito nodded. Naruto tried getting up again, that time from his hands and knees. He swayed dangerously, but he stayed on his feet. Obito stood next, one hand immediately going to his right temple. "Are you alright? Is it your eye?"

"It's a headache. Don't worry about me. You landed pretty hard and your head is still bleeding," Obito frowned, circling around behind Naruto to check on the blond. Obito parted hair to see the gash on the man's head, then he hissed at the sight. "It needs first aid. It doesn't look good. I'm sure we can find some supplies in Numachi."

"Then it looks like we're going to Numachi," Naruto mumbled, lost in thoughts revolving around Sakura. She would have healed him. By the end, she'd surpassed her deceased shisho, Tsunade. "Maybe we should henge. Do you have enough chakra?"

"It'll be enough," Obito answers, a puff of smoke surrounding him as he altered his appearance. Obito had slicked back black hair and deep brown eyes, and all of the scarring on the right side of his face was gone. Naruto reached up to place a hand over Obito's right cheek, then he hummed in approval. He gave the cheek a pat, then he grinned and altered his own appearance. He chose a young boy with bright green eyes and long brown hair he kept tied back in a low ponytail. "No voluptuous woman?" It was a joke, but Naruto took one look at Obito and changed into an older woman with large breasts practically spilling out of her kimono-style dress. "I shouldn't have said anything," Obito sighed. 

"We'll get more help this way. Trust me."

"Not the kind of help we need."

Numachi was a large village elevated over murky swamp water. Naruto wondered how the village handled flooding, and then he saw the boats docked near certain areas. The raised walkways they traversed creaked under their weight, something that left Naruto feeling unsure about their choice to visit the village. The people lived in wooden homes built like huts with a variety of greenery growing atop the structures. Naruto stopped to stare at one home, green eyes watching the flap over the door open and close, then he felt Obito near him, taking his arm, tugging him along. They'd gone weeks without another human soul, weeks with no other human contact. Seeing the bustling village overwhelmed Naruto. He stared at people, at shops and restaurants, at produce and wares. Around him, the world had expanded. 

They had no money, so Naruto offered to pickpocket, something he hadn't done since childhood. He'd done it just to get caught, just to get any type of attention, good or bad. In Numachi, he did so to survive. They scraped up enough money to get basic supplies. They bought ration bars, a first aid kit, canteens, and tablets for water purification, then they bought a real meal. It was takoyaki, which tasted divine, in comparison to the rations bars they had grown accustomed to eating. They didn't have anything left to buy a tent or sleeping bags, but they'd bought necessities. As they ate, they lingered around the takoyaki stall and watched people interacting. The sight must have been just as bizarre to Obito, because the man seemed fixated on a group of friends teasing one another over their poor catch for the day. 

"They're alive," Naruto mumbled, stuffing another piece of takoyaki into his mouth. He had three left and he really wanted more, but they didn't have the money and Obito had convinced him to stop pickpocketing after a man noticed and accused a small child of theft. "I wonder how far back we are. I guess we could ask who the Mizukage is and pretend to be dumb travelers."

"We _are_ dumb travelers." Naruto gave him a look, then ate another piece of food. Obito rubbed his right temple and finally looked away from the dispersing group. "Come on. I need to take a look at your head," Obito said, motioning for Naruto to follow. Naruto stuffed the last two pieces into his mouth, then he tossed the two containers into the trash. 

Obito led Naruto toward a deserted dock and had him sit on the edge. Feet dangling over the dark swamp water, Naruto dropped his henge and allowed Obito to see the gash on his head. It hadn't healed at all, just another reminder that Kurama was gone. Obito really needed to cut some of the hair away, but he did his best to clean and stitch without disrupting the blond locks. Obito slapped a bandage over the area and wound a little gauze around Naruto's head to help keep it in place, then he packed the supplies back into the first-aid kit. Naruto used a henge to morph back into the woman he'd been playing, then Obito moved to take a seat beside him. The sunset was ruined by storm clouds, the sky tinted a sickly shade, a mix between green and grey and yellow. With Kaguya, they'd experienced night, a never-ending darkness brought by her hand. Only fire light had reminded them that something other than darkness existed. Numachi wasn't exactly a beautiful place, not with its shades of browns and greens, the place reminding Naruto of the rebuilding process he'd gone through in Konoha, but it easily became everything they needed and more.

"Do we have enough for a room?"

"Maybe. It'd have to be cheap. We might be able to find someone willing to house us if we work for them," Naruto thought aloud, swinging his legs back and forth. The thought struck him that Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi might have seen something in Numachi. Sakura would have complained about stagnant water and the importance of water purifying tablets, while Sasuke would have hated the raised pathways. For some reason, Naruto wondered if Kakashi could have seen something beyond the huts and narrow pathways. "Do you think they'd like it here?"

"After everything we've been through, it's hard not to," Obito replied, turning his head to see Naruto's faraway expression. Obito reached out and slapped Naruto's thigh, then he pushed himself up and got to his feet. "It's going to storm. Let's find a place and figure out what we're going to do."

"Shouldn't I be the one leading this mission? I'm the Hokage," Naruto frowned, slow getting to his feet. His ribs ached, so he rested a hand over his left side. Obito reached out for Naruto, but Naruto waved him away. "They're probably bruised. Just give me a minute."

Big, fat droplets fell from the sky, wetting their hair and their shoulders more than anything else. The soaking rain quickly followed, the water falling in buckets. With the eerie fog and pouring rain, visibility was down to almost nothing, so the two walked close, steering clear of the edges of the path. They took shelter under a small awning, both of them shivering messes, their teeth clacking, fingers quivering. Naruto hadn't felt a cold rain in ages, and he had a feeling the village was in what the Land of Water considered the monsoon season. It explained the shifting winds and driving rain. At the rumbling of thunder, Naruto felt his heart constrict. He drew closer to the closed shop front until his back met the large window, then he pressed his palms flat against the glass. He'd needed something at his back. Obito slowly rested a hand atop Naruto's shoulder and squeezed, drawing Naruto's attention away from the lightning and thunder accompanying the rain. The sound reminded Naruto of explosions, and there had been so many explosions. He'd lost friends to them. His mind supplied him with images of Kiba, the boy's body parts strewn across the clearing like little breadcrumbs. He should have never sent the Inuzuka on that mission, but his friend had been determined, and he'd had no other choice. It was his first major failure as team captain. His first major failure as Hokage had been sending Kakashi's team on the mission to track Black Zetsu. He remembered the lightning as it extended up toward the sky, arching, brightening, and fading. He remembered Obito crying. 

"It's just a storm. You're alright, Naruto. Can you hear me? Listen to my voice." Obito cut through the confusion in Naruto's head, voice like a distant light slowly leading him to safety. When had it gotten so hard to breathe? He was gasping for air, fingers clawing at his chest. Where was his flat chest? What was happening to him? "You're alright. We're in Numachi. We're safe. Just breathe. Can you do that?" 

Naruto looked at Obito. The eyes were wrong, not mismatched, no longer red and purple, and the hair was dark, too dark. Naruto nodded, all that he could do right then, and then he had Obito's hand in the center of his chest, lightly tapping out a calming beat. He took deep, even breaths, though everything told him to continue the uneven frantic breathing he'd had moments before. His hiccups were ignored, tears overlooked. He'd had panic attacks before, but he thought he'd left them behind. He didn't have Sasuke shaking his shoulders, slapping his cheeks, demanding he get his shit together; he didn't have Sakura holding him, telling him to focus on her heartbeat and her breathing. He'd been a useless mess, at times, but he'd persevered. He'd dragged himself from the brink, time and time again, and all for more of the same. When his breathing and heart rate finally evened out and he stopped shaking like a leaf in a violent autumn breeze, Naruto reached up and patted Obito's hand. He was fine.

"It happens to me too," Obito admitted, reaching up to rub the back of his head. 

Clearly, he was uncomfortable talking about the episodes, but he'd thought it better to share something deeply personal, as if in an even trade. Naruto had only recalled Obito falling apart that one time, but Obito liked to hide parts of himself, to bury things deep, deep down, until they rose to the surface like flowers in spring. Obito exploded. He was like a fire with too much fuel. He burned white hot, until he didn't. When the man argued with anyone, the verbal disputes always turned physical. Obito felt fiercely, and Naruto understood that because he felt fiercely. Their kisses had always been too rough, with tongues fighting for dominance and teeth clacking in haste. They'd needed to feel, and Naruto felt again. They'd both lost precious people. They'd both had nothing left, except one another. It was the same all over again. And that was alright. 

"What if we can't fix this?" Naruto hated doubting himself; he hated how his voice sounded so small. If things had been different, if war hadn't wormed its way deep into his bones, making a home somewhere within his ribcage, he never would have questioned their mission. He would have marched forward, a righteous fury driving him onward. But that wasn't him anymore. That brat, that kid, was dead, buried with the bodies of his friends. "What if the same thing happens all over again? What if, what if I'm not strong enough?"

"What happened to the brat who dragged me out of my downward spiral, the one who made talking sense into a new jutsu? We can't afford to have doubts, Naruto. I believe in you. You're the Hokage. I know you'll do everything you can to make this right," Obito said, hands clasping Naruto's upper arms. Naruto felt a stirring in his chest. The corners of his lips tilted down, but he gave a firm nod. "Let's get out of this weather. I've always hated the rain."


	2. Touch

The room was small, with nothing but a futon tucked into the corner, a closet door to the right of the main door, and a door leading into an attached bathroom. It was all that they could afford, yet the place could have been a ryokan. Naruto immediately went to the futon, while Obito investigated the bathroom. Despite the fact that the futon had looked questionable, Naruto found that someone had aired it out recently. It smelled clean and fresh, reminding him of flowers and sunshine. Naruto went over to the closet and gathered two pillows from one of the shelves. By the time Naruto made their bed, Obito had returned from the bathroom, clad in a deep blue yukata. He'd dropped his henge, so Naruto was greeted with Obito's sharingan and rinnegan. Sighing, Naruto walked up to Obito, very aware of the fact that he smelled like blood, sweat, and smoke. Naruto jabbed a finger to Obito's chest, making the man wince. 

"Stop with the sharingan. We're safe here. Isn't that what you said to me? It's a drain on your chakra and you don't need it right now. I'll protect you," Naruto said, his last words a joke. Obito stared at Naruto for a long moment, then the red of the sharingan faded to black, a black that threatened to consume Naruto. "Was that so hard?" 

Naruto thought he heard a mumbled _yes_, but he could have been mistaken. Naruto dropped his henge, then he disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. He still had hot water, something he hadn't had in years. He couldn't recall the last shower he'd had, but he imagined it had felt just as good. He scrubbed his skin until it was pink, as if he could wash the past years from his skin. He leaned into the stream of warm water, allowing the water to hit his face. He was careful to avoid the stitches, which meant that he couldn't wash his hair. He stepped back, away from the water, and pressed his back against the shower wall. Slowly, he slid down to the shower floor and watched the water swirl and disappear down the drain. When the water turned cold, Naruto forced himself back up, pulling himself back together again. He'd been in there too long -- he knew that -- yet Obito had waited for him. The owners of the small inn had sent them dinner. The old woman had clicked her tongue and commented on Naruto's skinny waist, quietly promising that she would try to pack some weight on the bird of a woman. She'd thought they were husband and wife, and neither man had corrected her. 

Naruto settled on the futon, his left knee brushing against Obito's right knee. Naruto ate the fish and vegetables and rice, as if he'd never tasted real food before. The takoyaki from earlier hadn't been enough. Naruto noticed rather quickly that Obito picked at the food. He nudged Obito's knee with his own, the silent question in the gesture.

"I don't need much food. I might not need food at all. I found out rather fast if I eat too much, I'll vomit. I'm not all human, remember?" Obito flexed his right arm and Naruto's blue eyes took in the flesh there. White. So much white. Naruto trailed his fingers along the arm. "I can feel it," Obito said, answering yet another silent question. 

The two hadn't taken the time to get to know one another, to dig deep enough for anything more than a cursory glance. Naruto knew things, but not everything. Fighting had mattered more. He'd known enough to trust Obito, and that was all that had mattered. Sitting in the room, listening to the occasional rumble of thunder and the crack of lightning, Naruto wondered if they had the time, the chance to talk, to get to know one another. Naruto licked his lips, tasting the seasoning on the fish and vegetables. Obito raised his hand to touch Naruto's left cheek, fingers brushing over the smooth skin there. The whisker marks were gone, just like Kurama. They'd never gone past kisses and touches. The hug had been personal, so very personal. It had been a goodbye, a thank you, a promise that something better awaited them. For Obito, Rin and Kakashi. For Naruto, countless friends, his parents, and Jiraiya. But they'd lived. They'd started another chapter in a book worn down with age, pages yellowed and cover cracked and torn. Naruto turned his head and kissed Obito's hand, that small gesture, brave and stupid, connecting them again.

There were words that needed to fill the silence between them, but neither knew what to say. Naruto tried to turn back to his food, but Obito kept touching him. A hand explored his left side, gently moving around his ribs. Naruto felt lips on his neck and he froze, the bite of fish between his chopsticks hanging in the air. So they needed to feel alive again. Naruto put the fish back onto his plate, along with the chopsticks. He sat his plate aside, then Obito's plate. And all the while, Obito kissed Naruto's neck, his jaw, the corner of his lips. They were close, very close, and it was as easy as breathing. Naruto moved to Obito's lap, straddling the man's legs, then he placed his hands on Obito's cheeks and leaned in to kiss chapped lips. Their kisses were soft then, lips barely parting between kisses. They kissed until they were breathless, because they'd never done that before -- they'd never had the time. It was new, unexplored territory for both of them. When Obito pulled back, he rested his head against Naruto's right shoulder. Naruto saw and felt the man's shoulders shaking, so he wrapped his arms around Obito and held Obito close, as if their embrace was all they had left, and wasn't that the truth.

They didn't talk about the breakdown; they didn't talk about the kisses that had taken their breath away. Obito pulled away and lightly patted the sides of Naruto's thighs, a sign that the moment had passed. They were alright again, moving forward again. Naruto moved back to his side of the futon and Obito lay down, turning so his back faced Naruto. Naruto turned back to his food, eating the remainder of his dinner. When he finished, he placed Obito's plate atop his own and pushed them away. He lay down, unsure of what he wanted. The fact that Obito had turned away from him left him wondering, mind filling with the worst thoughts. He tried sleeping on his left side, gritting his teeth to keep the painful moan behind his teeth. He eventually turned onto his back and gripped the back of Obito's yukata. He had that much.

Sometime during the night, Obito had turned to face Naruto. They woke up that way. Though they didn't need to, they took showers again, treasuring the warm water. They dressed in their old clothes, as they had nothing else, then they used a henge to return to their former bodies. They were married again. They ate with the owners of the inn, and then they left. Leaving Numachi was easy, almost too easy, but they'd grown accustomed to moving, to leaving, to rebuilding, and repeating. Obito had put a patch over his left eye, the rinnegan closed and hidden from view. Still recovering, they traveled at a civilian's pace. The trip to the west coast took too long. What could have been half a day quickly turned to a day and a half. Though Obito remained quiet, Naruto knew the man was frustrated. Naruto was impatient. They had little to their names, besides their basic items and their weapons. Naruto had hidden his allied hitai-ate in their bag, leaving his forehead bare for the first time in a long time. They had no idea where they were going, but Obito wanted far away from Kirigakure. The man had insisted they leave, and Naruto obliged. Faced with a need for passage aboard a ship, Naruto found them a vessel willing to get them to Hot Water country, where they would then be on their own.

"We need to decide where we're going. We need to start somewhere. We're just wasting time," Naruto finally grumbled. They stood near the bow of the ship, eyes on the horizon. Obito sighed, though he nodded. "I think we should go to Konoha. Jiji will understand. He'll help us," Naruto reasoned, turning to rest his hip against the railing. Obito's brows were pinched, a deep frown marring the features of his henge. "Where did you want to start, the Akatsuki?"

"That seems like the place to start. We could stop it from going rogue or tear it apart at its seams. Going back to Konoha is a stupid idea. We're not here to settle down and find a home there. We're here to stop me from making the biggest mistake of my life. The less people in on this, the less trouble. We're time travelers. That sounds like a ridiculous claim and they'll ship us to Torture and Interrogation before you could blink." Naruto cringed, but he felt his temper rising. Obito turned to look at the horizon again, watching the changing colors in the sky. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you miss it, but it's a bad idea. I know you know that."

"What about Kakashi?"

"What about him?"

"Don't you want to see him again? Don't you miss him? He'd be happy to see you again, once he's done kicking your ass. If he's there, maybe he'll," Naruto was interrupted before he could continue and his mouth closed, the click of his teeth loud. 

"That's _not_ my Kakashi. Those aren't your friends. The people you knew are _gone_. If you go parading around as yourself, what do you think is going to happen? You're not the same Naruto. They won't know you. They aren't the people who fought along beside you, who died trying to save the world. We don't belong there." 

Obito shook his head and Naruto wanted to punch him, to wipe the frown off of his face. Obito hadn't even looked bothered by the thought of never seeing Kakashi again. Obito was right, and Naruto hated it. Everyone he knew and loved had died. He only had Obito, Obito to rein him in, Obito to understand him and everything they'd gone through. Naruto gripped the metal railing until his knuckles paled, because he couldn't find it in him to lash out at Obito, not when the man was right. 

When the waves picked up and the boat started rocking, both men retreated below deck, taking refuge in their bunks, where they ran through their conversation numerous times. Naruto still wanted to go to Konoha, and Obito seemed adamant about hunting the Akatsuki. As the boat hit a particularly nasty wave, Naruto sat up, swung his legs over the side of his bunk, and gripped the edge of the bed. Above Naruto, Obito leaned over to peer down at the blond. 

"Where is the group now?" Naruto didn't bother naming the organization, not when they both knew the name. Obito didn't say anything for a few minutes, so Naruto looked up at him. "If you don't know," Naruto began, cut off with a look from Obito.

"We should try Amegakure first. Nagato and Konan liked to spend time there, since it's their home village. We can check and see if the original Akatsuki are still around or if the two have started recruiting new members," Obito said, leaning back to recline on his bunk again.

"And if we run into you?"

"Simple. We leave. Now isn't the time to chase my younger self."

"I can handle him." Obito leaned over the side of his bed to look down at Naruto. One brow arched, a clear show of his doubt, and then Obito went back to lying on his bed. Naruto punched the bottom of the top bunk, jolting Obito. "I'm serious. If we're going to take out Pain, we might as well talk you down. How hard could it be? I did it once. I can do it again," Naruto assured him.

"And if talking doesn't work?"

"It'll work." At the words, Naruto heard him sigh. "You're a good person. You were manipulated. I can fix that. I know I can," Naruto spoke, words fiery with determination. When Obito didn't respond, Naruto hit the top bunk again.

"I know you can," Obito conceded, "but I don't think we should start with my younger self. Do you have anything you want to address?"

"Danzo, I guess. Maybe we can stop the massacre. If we're too late, we might as well take him out. We can save Itachi that way, right?" Naruto sat down in the center of his bed and wiggled around until he lay on his back. "Maybe then Sasuke won't leave."

"It depends on Itachi. Right now, he's lost. I think it'll take a lot more than Danzo's death to bring him around. If we get there before the massacre, Danzo's death will save him and the lives of his clan members. I can't say for how long though, since I wanted them gone." Naruto didn't know what to say to that. He'd known Obito had done terrible things, practically unforgivable things, and yet there they were, together, trying to save the world again. "Why do you care about Sasuke so much? He tried to kill you. He was never really on our side."

"We understood one another. He was my best friend. Sort of. It's complicated. I loved the bastard like a brother," Naruto frowned, closing his eyes. The words had tasted wrong. Naruto listened to the sound of Obito shifting around and the creaks and groans from the ship. The beds were too small, so they had to curl up on their sides to get comfortable. "If we're early enough, maybe we can save Rin. That's her name, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's her name," Obito replied, his voice so quiet that Naruto strained to hear him. "If we're that far back, we could still start with Amegakure. Maybe it wouldn't be too late to reason with Nagato."

"If we're going to convince him of anything, let me talk. You're not bad, but I'm better. Hopefully I can scrape together enough garbage to change his mind," Naruto mumbled. "If we're early enough," Naruto added, deciding that he needed to repeat the words. When Obito didn't respond, Naruto latched onto the first thought that popped into his head. "We don't have to hide anymore, do we? Not that I don't appreciate walking around as a woman," Naruto trailed off.

"You look a lot like Minato, especially without the whiskers."

"Maybe it'll scare them. Hiding who I am just isn't my style. I'm proud to be Naruto, even if I'm not so sure what it means to be Naruto anymore."

"I spent most of my life hiding behind a mask. I'm done hiding. Once we reach land, we can be ourselves again. How about that?" 

The voyage took six days, three of which had Naruto half-sick from violent storms rocking the boat. When the boat finally docked at a shipping yard on the southeast coast of the Land of Hot Water, Naruto was the first person off the vessel. Obito met Naruto at the edge of the shipping yard and reached out to ruffle the man's blonde hair. Obito had missed the blonde hair and blue eyes, and though Naruto cursed Obito for ruining his hair, Obito smiled. 

"You need a haircut soon. Your sides are getting long, like your dad's used to be."

"You should smile more. You look nice, you know? Younger too, for an old man."

"Oh, a jab at my age. How original," Obito drawled, reaching out to slap the back of Naruto's head. Naruto yelped and Obito immediately panicked. He grabbed Naruto's arm, spun the man around, and examined the stitches. Everything looked fine. The skin wasn't inflamed, and he couldn't see any blood. Naruto jerked away from him and he offered an apologetic smile. 

"Yeah, you should be sorry. Jerk," Naruto said, no heat in his words. He reached up to touch the stitches, but Obito slapped his hand away. "Ouch! I wasn't going to rip them out! You're so violent," Naruto accused, thrusting his index finger in Obito's direction. 

"I _am_ a shinobi. It's second nature," Obito said, shrugging his shoulders. He smirked at Naruto, then resumed walking. The path that they were on continued straight, following along a small stream, until it eventually split off into three directions. When Naruto slipped on the uneven ground and tipped dangerously to the right, Obito grabbed the back of Naruto's cloak and yanked the man back onto the path. "Did you want to take a bath in the stream?"

"Very funny. No, I don't want to bathe in the stream. I just lost my footing. It's hot as hell," Naruto frowned, reaching up to swipe the back of his right hand over his sweaty forehead. "What happened to the cold rain?"

"It was monsoon season there. It'll get worse the farther north we go. There are a lot of hot springs in this country and you can feel it in the heat and humidity," Obito answered. Naruto hadn't expected an answer, as evidenced by the silence. "You didn't study geography in the academy?"

"Of course I did! I just didn't do so well in the academy. I was last. I only graduated on a fluke," Naruto sighed, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. He'd slept wrong and he had a stiff neck. He thought Obito might laugh at him, as the idea of the savior of the world being dead last was pretty funny. Naruto really wouldn't have blamed the man. Instead, Obito nodded. 

"I was last too. I barely passed the written test for my first chunin exam. Someone dropped out and I took the spot. I was a dumb kid," Obito said, shrugging. Naruto stifled a laugh with his hand and Obito turned to glare at him. "I can make a basic clone," Obito reminded him. 

"Shadow clones are way better," Naruto countered. 

The conversation ended and both men focused on putting one foot in front of the other. They'd spent a lot of time moving from place to place, so journeying was like breathing for them. Naruto constantly had to remind himself that they were safe, that Black Zetsu didn't know about them and what they'd accomplished. But what if the creature figured out where they were, what they had done? What if Kaguya pursued them? Naruto looked down at his sandals, admiring the contrast between the well-worn dirt path and his black sandals. He'd been a conversationalist, at one point in his life; he'd never known when to shut his mouth. He'd been a hero. He'd been a role model. And then he'd gone downhill from there. He felt just like the mud caked on his sandals. He'd fallen that low. Being Hokage had been a nightmare. His orders had killed people. His missions had destroyed people. Naruto looked over at Obito, studying the man's profile. Obito had lived. Despite everything, Naruto hadn't been a complete failure. One had survived. And they were setting things right. He reminded himself that he could rise again. It wasn't a knockout moment, even though it had felt that way. 

"Do you blame me?"

"For what?"

"For their deaths. I got everyone killed. I wasn't a good Hokage, not like I wanted to be. I should have saved them, somehow. Sasuke. Sakura. Kakashi-sensei," Naruto rambled, words and sentences running together. Obito took two steps forward to stand in front of Naruto, stopping them in the middle of the path. Tall, dark trees rose up on one side, concealing them. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sent Kakashi-sensei on that mission. I know how much he meant to you," Naruto managed to get out. 

"I don't want you to apologize, Naruto. You didn't kill everyone. We all did what we could to end the war I started, the one Black Zetsu had plotted for decades. Kakashi knew what was at stake, and he knew he might not make it back. We're shinobi. It happens."

"That's it? 'It happens'? You're just over it?"

"What do you want me to say? I wasted twenty years of my life, and when I figured out what I wanted, what I needed, it was ripped from my hands. No, I'm not 'over it,' Naruto. Not even close. But I don't have time to stop and mourn, and neither do you. We have a mission," Obito said, as if Naruto had forgotten. Naruto stared at Obito, wondering how the hell the Uchiha compartmentalized so well. Kakashi had described Obito as being similar to Naruto. Twenty years had changed Obito. Madara, Zetsu, the curse of hatred -- a combination of people and events had hardened Obito's heart.

"Alright," Naruto heard himself say, that single word giving them both the strength to continue moving. Naruto didn't know if he felt the stirrings of anger or the slow, rolling approach of pure disbelief. He recalled Obito crying and he wondered if it would be Rin all over again. He should have said something, done something, but he kept walking. The conversation had ended.

The Land of Hot Water transformed before Naruto's eyes. The shipping yard had been nothing but one large wooden structure and a lot of fencing. The nation they explored had a lot of trees, a lot of pine trees. They passed numerous villages before nightfall forced them to stop and settle. Obito wanted to camp in the woods, but Naruto had convinced him to enter into the village. Kiso was a decent-sized village just a short walk from the coast; the place had one major ryokan and three separate bathhouses. Naruto had stayed in the village with Jiraiya. He remembered how the man was thrown out of the ryokan and all three bathhouses. They'd had to escape in the night to avoid an angry mob. Jiraiya had a way with people, especially women: They loved him or they hated him. At one time, the man's passing had been the hardest thing in Naruto's life, but the Fourth Shinobi War had gone on to earn that right. Naruto had a lot of regrets, when it came to Jiraiya. He'd never found the right time to tell the sannin how he felt. Jiraiya had been a father figure for him. All Naruto had left of Jiraiya was the man's teachings. In the midst of war, books didn't matter anymore.

They didn't have the money to stay at the ryokan, so they wandered the streets until midnight. Kiso was so different from Numachi, and both paled in comparison to Konoha. Kiso had main streets lined in wood, as if the entire place wanted to be one big boardwalk. Naruto liked the tiny creaks their steps made, so different from the sound of the walkways of Numachi. They existed in the echo of their footsteps along the walkways. Obito didn't seem to care for the village, but Naruto suspected he was still sour about their last conversation. Obito looked tired, even though that description didn't do it justice. They'd both been tired for a very long time. Naruto finally nudged Obito's side and they left Kiso to walk to the coastline. The beach was mostly covered in high grass, though sand formed a barrier between the grass and the sea. 

Naruto dropped their bag onto the beach and collapsed onto the sand. He'd fallen asleep there once. The high tide had swallowed his ankles. He'd awoken to the sea on his toes. Obito walked closer to the sea and admired the reflection of the full moon on the dark water. Naruto knew that they'd likely carry the sand in their sandals for some time, but he still removed them. He flexed his toes, burying them in the sand only to pull them out again. He had a whole world to explore, and wasn't that refreshing. When Obito finally took a seat beside Naruto, he looked over at the younger man. 

"It's how I cope. I know you're different. I know it's not all about the mission for you. At one time, I'd been the same way, but life has a way of changing people. You'll understand when you've lived a few more years. You're young still."

"Your way of coping doesn't work. I don't like it. I just," Naruto trailed off, taking a moment to wet his lips, "I guess I gave in because you're right, but you're not. We're not at war right now, but we're still acting like it, and I hate it. I want to be alright again, and it's hard. I won't be the same. I'm not the same." Naruto brought his knees up closer to his chest and rested his arms atop his legs, while Obito stretched out his legs. They were mismatched, even then. "We don't need to be so messed up," he finished, voice quiet. 

"My way of coping kept me going, it keeps me going, unhealthy as it is. I need to focus on something just out of reach and keep moving toward it. I can't think about everything that's gone wrong in my life. I can't. I don't think I'd be able to keep going. We're not done yet. We've barely begun," Obito said, eyes straying from Naruto's face. In the dark, Naruto's blue eyes had lost their luster. "We'll go back to Konoha. I give you my word. Just not yet. We have other things to take care of. The Akatsuki, the jinchuriki, Orochimaru, Kabuto. We'll go back when we take care of Danzo. Maybe we'll stay. Maybe we won't," Obito spoke, seemingly caught between the two options.

"Konoha was your home," Naruto frowned, suddenly missing the light of day that would have revealed more of the man's face. "If you're not staying, why the hell would I stay? You're right. They aren't the people I know. I'm a stranger to them."

"Naruto, you can build a home wherever you want to. That's who you are. And what the hell would you follow me for? I'm thirty-three. I've got nothing to offer you, Naruto," Obito snorted, kicking a foot at the sand. 

"Right now you're all I have. Leaving you would be stupid. I need you."

"You won't need me anymore."

"Well, I'll need you then too. Stop being such a dumbass."

Obito laughed, the sound so foreign to Naruto's ears. Soon enough, Naruto found himself chuckling. Obito lay in the sand then, finding some comfort in the lingering warmth. Naruto lay down beside him, both of them staring up at the stars in the clear night sky. Naruto wondered if Shikamaru would have loved the view. He didn't remember when he fell asleep, but he woke to Obito's scream, followed by a round of heavy breathing. Naruto sat up and reached out to touch Obito's back, but the man held up a hand, halting Naruto's movement. They'd never talked about their nightmares. They'd never had the time, and then they'd simply never wanted to. Naruto toyed with the idea of asking. He'd never dared to ask before, not for lack of concern, but for an understanding of the need for privacy. Sleeping on the beach had been a terrible idea, but they'd had no choice. They had no money. Neither had considered the fact that such a mission would require funds. 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"I think you should, Obito. It might help."

"I'm fine now."

That was the end of the discussion. Obito turned his back to Naruto and Naruto fell back onto the sand. Naruto turned onto his right side and grasped the back of Obito's shirt. That had to be enough again. Obito had to know that he clung to that portion. They'd never talked about that either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said this wasn't going to be out until Tuesday or Wednesday, but I'm impatient. It works for two prompts ("breathless" and "touch starved"), so why not? :)


	3. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm warning of sexual content near the end of the chapter. It's not too descriptive. It's mostly implied.

When they finally left the coast and entered into the Land of Fire, Naruto understood the feeling of homesickness. They were so close, yet so far away. Halfway to Amegakure, Obito convinced Naruto to consider bounty hunting for easy cash, so their journey took them to various places within the nation. Naruto had become rather desensitized when it came to killing, as he'd had no choice. Though something screamed at him to stop, to pause, he killed, mercilessly. After their third collected bounty, they resumed their journey to Rain. Naruto tried to start and maintain conversations, but Obito was slow to open up. Only after they'd left the areas surrounding Konoha and Tanzaku did he finally open up, and even then he'd seemed hesitant. At one time, Obito had been a conversationalist, just like Naruto. They'd grown too accustomed to silence. 

Amegakure rose from the mist like a beacon of the industrial age. Buildings climbed toward the sky, and bright signs shone through the dark night. The place smelled of nothing but rain, a world knowing nothing but petrichor, the lingering musty scent, and the sour smell of wet dog. Getting into Amegakure was a problem. Shinobi stood guard at the entrance to the village, as if the water leading up to the village didn't deter travelers. Though they'd decided to drop their disguises and move forward as themselves, Naruto and Obito disguised themselves to get into the village. They followed a merchant caravan into the village, posing as intimidating guards; once inside, they split off and began their search for clues. Unsurprisingly, they didn't spot any black cloaks with red clouds. They saw Ame shinobi in groups, going from one place to another. They encountered no fighting, which seemed to rule out an earlier time line. Naruto might have been the worst student in his graduating class, but he remembered enough about the nation. The third shinobi war had torn the place apart, and then a civil war took place, Hanzo against the rebel group, the Akatsuki. Beyond that, he knew little. 

When Obito finally found the building they were looking for, a large tower with what looked like a tongue extending, hovering over them, he dragged Naruto to a shop across the street from the building. They stood in the front of the shop, right in the front window, staring up toward the top of the building. 

"That's creepy," Naruto said, squinting at the extended tongue. He looked to the side, waiting for Obito to agree, but the man was too distracted by the sight. Naruto elbowed Obito, a small nudge to the man's side. "What are we waiting for? Let's go kick his ass."

"We need a plan first. This is his home village, so he has an advantage. It's not like in Konoha. You don't have the fox anymore, and you had trouble going into sage mode."

"I told you it was my ribs. The guy hit pretty hard. You wouldn't know because you used your sharingan to cheat."

"How many times do I have to tell you? It isn't cheating. It's not a game." At those words, Naruto rolled his eyes and grabbed Obito's hand, dragging the man back out of the shop and into the light rain. It was late, so most of the civilians had gone home and gone to bed, leaving the streets feeling deserted. The only people they had encountered were shinobi. "What are we going to do when he calls on the six paths and decides to murder you?"

"Why did you only say me?" Naruto glared at him and Obito chuckled. Naruto released the man's hand and they finally crossed the street and entered into the building. Naruto had thought they would have locked the doors, but then again, a locked door didn't stop shinobi. "Let's try talking to him first. Maybe we can convince him to change, so we don't have to kill him."

"He killed Jiraiya and he was behind the murder of jinchuriki. Are you sure you want to bother?" Obito didn't want to give Nagato a chance. He didn't think the man deserved another chance. Naruto took a while to decide, but he finally nodded. "If he doesn't listen, we're killing him."

"Fine. I'll even make the killing blow," Naruto promised. 

Creeping through the dimly lit interior of the building left Naruto feeling like a stereotypical assassin. The stairs to the top floor didn't leave them exhausted, but there were far too many of the flights. Finally, on the top floor of the building, Naruto focused on the chakra signatures. Two stood out, both of them close to one another. They were familiar, as Naruto had never been able to forget the feel of their chakra. One reminded Naruto of Nagato, and the other reminded him of Konan. While they should have hesitated and taken the time to plot their entrance and the conversation that would follow, they marched on, both trusting in the power of Naruto's words. Like tiny candles finally holding their flames, five other chakra signatures emerged, all of them spread throughout the top floor of the building. They didn't move to stop the two shinobi, so neither man chose to engage with them. The top floor led to the mouth, which housed the tongue. Naruto led the way, Obito barely one step behind. 

The deva path, with the body of Yahiko, sat on the very edge of the tongue. With one leg drawn up toward his chest, the other dangling over the edge, the man stared out at the village. Konan stood to the right of the man, the only one to turn and acknowledge Naruto and Obito. She took a step to block the two from getting closer to the body of her friend, but that didn't deter Naruto. 

"What do you want?" Konan eyed them both, facial expression blank, though her eyes were sharp and calculating. Obito moved to stand beside Naruto, and that act attracted the path's attention. The deva path had been Nagato's favorite. Both men knew that. 

"I'm here to talk to Nagato, not a puppet. Where is he?" Naruto frowned, eyes cutting from Konan to Yahiko's body. 

"What makes you think you aren't looking at him?" The man with orange hair and various rods piercing his face finally acknowledged them, and Konan seemed surprised. "Did you come here for me to end your life?"

"No, but I might have come here to end yours. I know all about you, and I'm here to tell you it's over. No more Akatsuki. No tailed beasts. No peace brought about by more war. That's not how you make peace. That's mass extermination. You're trying for genocide. I won't let you," Naruto said, fists clenched at his sides. Konan narrowed her eyes, the only evidence that she understood the words. The man finally stood and turned his back to the village. 

"What would _you_ know about war and peace?"

"I know a lot. I know what you're doing is wrong. We've been through hell once, and it's not happening again. You can stop this and step aside, or I can make you." 

"Humans crave conflict. How is what you're doing right now any different? You don't yet know true pain, whereas I do. I've known pain for a very long time," the man spoke, seeming to look right through Naruto. Naruto hated those eyes. "Is this your revenge, that which you hide as justice, that which goes on and on, triggering a cycle of hatred?"

"I've watched everyone I love die, because of men wanting what they believe is true peace. They were wrong, just like you're wrong. Humans don't crave conflict. We're all flawed. We all have imperfections. But I believe that we're all inherently good, that somewhere, deep down, we crave peace. We want happiness. We want love and acceptance. I don't want to kill you, but I will, if it means stopping you from hurting the people I care about."

"Inherently good," the leader echoed, as if confused. "Don't you hate? Love is pain. Loss is pain. Pain and hatred go hand in hand. If what you seek is peace, if what men want is peace, how will you end the cycle of hatred?"

"People simply have to _want_ more than pain and hatred, to realize that they _can_ have more than pain and hatred. Sometimes it takes someone else to make them see it," Obito stepped in, drawing those rinnegan eyes to himself. The man nodded, though Naruto doubted their conversation had changed Pein's mind. "Life's greatest lessons aren't always learned through pain."

The chakra signatures hovering outside of the door to the room seemed to retreat, so Naruto relaxed his posture. Konan turned slightly so she could try to read some expression on her old friend's face. Naruto saw nothing there, but she seemed to see something. The leader made a move and Obito tensed, which had Konan on guard. Naruto placed a hand on Obito's right forearm and the man made no move to attack. 

"What is your name?" The eyes no longer looked through Naruto. They saw him. Naruto squared his shoulders and looked right into the rinnegan eyes. He had the choice to say his real name with pride, but Nagato had likely heard all about the jinchuriki of Konoha. He settled on another name. 

"Namikaze Menma."

"I would like to see this peace."

"Follow me," Konan said, walking past the men. 

The deva path faced the village again, adopting the same pose he'd had before the interruption. Naruto was the first to follow Konan, Obito walking at his back. The chakra signatures had gathered in a room at the end of the hallway. The entire floor had a metallic smell, reminding Naruto of blood. He wrinkled his nose, eyes narrowing as if he were searching for the source, but he saw no blood. Konan led them toward the chakra signatures. She opened the door to the room and stepped aside, allowing both men entrance to the dark room. Naruto took a moment to allow his eyes to adjust. The rest of the building had soft lighting, with bare bulbs dangling from thin wires, but the room they entered had red lighting, as if it had emergency lights. Pod-like beds were on both sides of the room, and the other paths resided in the beds, their faces hidden. On the far wall, seemingly suspended there, Nagato observed them. He watched them approach, as if watching and waiting for some show of ill intent. Konan went from following to leading, taking them past the beds to Nagato. All traces of Pain ceased to exist then, as Naruto saw Nagato's frail body, numerous black rods stabbed through the man's back. Even though Naruto had met with Nagato before, he still hated the sight. The scene left him unsettled. As if knowing Naruto's aversion, Obito lightly tapped the back of Naruto's left hand. He wasn't alone. 

"You come here to convince me that I'm wrong, rather than to fight. That is your solution, isn't it? You intend to lead them on a different path. Pain has shaped you, but it doesn't define you." 

Nagato spoke as if he'd never once encountered someone like Naruto. The last war had been brutal. Hanzo had thoroughly broken Nagato, mentally and physically. Hadn't Madara, Zetsu, and Kaguya done the same? Naruto fell apart so easily, taking so many steps backward that moving forward sometimes felt impossible. But he picked himself up, over and over again, forced himself to keep moving, and when that became too much, Obito pushed and pulled and dragged him along. There were days when they both wallowed, succumbing to sadness and bitterness and weakness. Nagato spent everyday there, the pain a cycle that had only stomped on what remained of the man. Faced with Nagato's words, knowing that he wasn't impervious to darker times, Naruto nodded. Pain had shaped the blond, but the pain didn't define him. Naruto was so much more than loss and suffering, even if he forgot that sometimes.

"It's not too late to do the right thing. You aren't too late to change your ways," Naruto assured the broken man. Nagato looked down at the floor, as if lost in thought. "If I hope to make a better world, and I do, I need to show compassion and understanding and mercy. If you can prove to me that you'll change, then I'll leave."

"What do you want to do?" Konan stood by Nagato's side, her question seeming to reverberate. The room left the words echoing, adding weight to them. Naruto knew that the two Akatsuki members had somewhat of an advantage, as he and Obito were surrounded, but Naruto also knew that Obito could get them out of there. He trusted Obito. "Whatever you want to do, I'm with you. I will follow you," she said, as if reminding her friend. 

"Give me three days."

The request was granted. Although Obito wanted to push for twenty-four hours, Naruto had convinced his companion that they had time. In the scheme of things, three days amounted to nothing. Nagato and Konan didn't offer them a place to stay, but it went without saying that Naruto and Obito would remain in Amegakure for the three days. Obito knew of a small ryokan where they could stay, just another building rising toward the sky. The two women working the front desk eyed their weapons, but they didn't ask. One woman checked them in, while the other woman led them to their room. The fact that Obito had requested one room had also earned them another look, but Naruto wanted nothing more than to take a hot bath and eat a decent meal. The food at Numachi and Kiso had spoiled him. He'd found ramen in Kiso, ramen that he'd actually enjoyed. When he asked the woman if they served ramen, she laughed at him and rattled off the special for that day, shogayaki with namasu. Naruto wanted to complain about the daikon and carrot salad, but Obito asked the woman the location of the bath, cutting off any snide comments about the namasu Naruto didn't want.

"You can finally wash your hair. It smells," Obito commented, leaning in to smell Naruto's hair. Naruto shoved Obito's shoulder, moving the man away from him, then proceeded to turn his nose up. "I can cut your hair, if you want," Obito said, after they'd left their belongings against the far wall of the room. 

"So you can mess it up? No thanks," Naruto snorted, the first to leave the room. Obito ruffled Naruto's hair from behind. The two traveled the empty hallways and the vacant stairwell to the bottom floor, all for a chance to soak in the communal bath. "Will you do a decent job?" Naruto didn't ask until they'd reached the showers.

"I cut my own hair for years. What do you think?"

"Not too much. Just enough to look like myself again."

"Are you sure you don't want to look like Minato? I thought you wanted to scare people."

Naruto leaned into the spray of the shower and completely ignored Obito. Naruto hadn't stayed at a ryokan since he'd traveled with Jiraiya, since they'd fled from Kiso. It had been an apology move, something to stop Naruto from yelling at Jiraiya about all of the peeping and research, which led to a lack of training. Naruto had been thrilled, until Jiraiya showed up at two in the morning to drag Naruto out of bed. Naruto missed the old pervert. Jiraiya's final mission had been a mistake, a disaster, and Naruto vowed that it would never happen again. After they washed off, the two retreated to the bath, where they leaned back against the edge of the large bath and stared out at the steam rising from the hot water. Obito stretched his arms out and stared up at the ceiling. Someone had painted a picture there, one of the village torn between rain and sunshine. Naruto rested a damp rag atop his head and sunk down low, the water brushing against his chin. If Obito thought of anything, the man kept his thoughts to himself.

"I think we should head to the Land of Rivers next. We need to get rid of the members of the group," Obito finally spoke, going right for the heavy subject. He looked down from the ceiling to meet Naruto's half-lidded blue eyes. Naruto shook his head. "Where do you want to start?"

"I think we should go for Zetsu. Without Zetsu, it'll be easier to convince your younger self to stop going along with the Moon's Eye plan. If we go for the other members of the group, I think he'll go underground and we'll lose him. Or worse," Naruto sighed, stopping only to inhale the warmth. The room smelled of roses, oddly enough, and it had been so long since he'd stopped and appreciated the scent. His mind conjured up an image of Ino, Ino who had given her life to save Sakura's. "Who knows. Maybe Nagato will help us, if he decides to give up on his insane philosophy of pain and hatred. You have to admit it's insane."

"I can't say much about it," Obito replied, shrugging a shoulder. He seemed to consider Naruto's words, and then he nodded, more to himself than the other man. "Without Nagato and Konan, Tobi will be forced to pull more strings and he'll feel threatened. If that happens, I think he'll speed up the hunt for the biju."

"What if we made contact with the jinchuriki? We could always warn them. Or we could shift the focus to Tobi. If we had a bigger group, like an actual team, this would be a lot easier. I guess we'll just have to hope for Nagato and Konan."

"Or we could go to Konoha and get a team."

"Oi! You said going back was stupid, dattebayo!"

"It's been a long time since I heard your verbal tic," Obito smiled, his lack of response further irritating the blond. Obito's smile bled away, erased by a serious expression. Lips pressed tightly together, he tipped his head back to look up at the ceiling again. "It would be our last option, but it's still an option." Naruto read more into the words. He saw Obito relenting, giving in knowing that Naruto missed Konoha. He saw someone willing to take a chance.

"Last option then," Naruto agreed, nodding. The rag atop his head fell into the water with a sickening plop and Naruto grabbed it before it could float away. "If we took out Tobi, Zetsu would latch onto someone else, so we should definitely go for Zetsu."

"Alright, then it looks like we're hunting Zetsu."

"A spy network would help us locate him faster." It was a hint and they both knew that. Naruto saw an excuse to reach out for his godfather. Obito gave him a look, just a subtle narrowing of those mismatched eyes, and Naruto sighed. "Fine. Last option then," Naruto agreed once more.

They stayed in the steam-filled room until their fingers resembled prunes, then they changed into pale grey yukata and made the trip back to their room. The women from the front desk had disappeared, so the lobby was deserted. Both men ascended the stairs in silence, then they sought refuge in their room. Someone had left them food, four covered dishes and two cups left on the low table in front of the closed windows. While Obito sat their clothes aside, Naruto went to the other side of the room and opened the curtains. Their room was on the third floor, so they had a decent view, but the sky was a dark grey, rain clouds blocking the moonlight. They sat down on opposite sides of the table and each took a covered plate and bowl. Naruto removed the cover from the bowl, revealing white rice, then he removed the cover from the plate. Shogayaki and namasu. Naruto sighed at the food, but he didn't complain. He was far too hungry. 

"You eat like a pig," Obito commented, earning a nasty glare from the blond. Obito took one of their napkins, leaned across the small table, and wiped the sauce that had been smeared across Naruto's cheek. He left the napkin for Naruto to use again, then returned to his side of the table. "It's not ramen, but it's good food." That ended Obito's attempts at conversing. Naruto took quick glances at the man, but Obito had continued eating. 

"I guess," Naruto answered, his words coming too late. Naruto stuffed some of the namasu into his mouth and took time to appreciate the flavor. Moments later, mouth stuffed with food, Naruto jabbed his chopsticks in Obito's direction. Obito arched a brow at the display, eyes moving from the chopsticks to Naruto's eyes. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Wasn't there a time when you were brash?"

"I was a kid, alright? I'm asking anyway! How did you, you know," Naruto said, toying with his chopsticks. "How did you end up with Kakashi-sensei?"

"That is a personal question," Obito said, attention moving back to the food. Naruto quickly added food to his mouth to avoid replying to the words. Obito prodded the remainder of the meat on his plate. "We had two years and we weren't getting any younger."

"Stop doing that. Stop minimizing everything. You always do that. Did you love him or not?" Naruto didn't care that stray pieces of rice flew from his lips. He didn't care that he still had a stray piece of rice there. He wiped his right wrist over his lips. Naruto watched something pass in Obito's dark eye, something that had moved so quickly that Naruto wondered if he'd seen anything at all.

"Does it really matter? Did you love Hinata?"

"Don't bring her into this. You know how I feel about her." She'd died in Naruto's arms, her last words a promise that she'd loved him for so long, that she'd always love him. He'd been absolutely horrified. He thought that she knew he wasn't interested, and she'd wasted her last moments spilling her heart out to him, yet again. Thinking about her left him feeling guilty. He felt awful for not loving her, for not being there for her. She'd been so kind to him. Naruto snapped his chopsticks in half, the four pieces hitting the table.

"I think you're smart enough to know how I feel about Kakashi." 

Obito looked down at the broken chopsticks, then he nudged his plate and bowl toward the center of the table. When Obito stood, Naruto stood. Still upset, Naruto shoved Obito, hands pushing against the man's chest. Obito stumbled backwards two steps, but he didn't raise a hand to return the favor. Naruto closed the distance again, shoving Obito once more. And suddenly it was less about Obito's unwillingness to open up and more about Naruto's inability to keep up with everything that had happened, everything that would happen. Everything had been taken from him. Everything. The man he had left kept him at arm's length, constantly shunning him. The last time Naruto moved, he took a swing at Obito, and Obito reacted by grabbing Naruto's arm. Obito spun Naruto around, twisting the arm behind Naruto's back, forcing the blond to the floor. Breathing heavy, Naruto squirmed around until Obito pinned him to the floor. Naruto gritted his teeth and lashed out verbally. 

"Get the hell off of me!"

"Are you going to calm down?"

"I am calm!" Obito didn't move, so Naruto jammed an elbow into Obito's gut. The older man grunted and tugged harshly on Naruto's right arm. Naruto's left side still ached, but he thrashed around a few more times. "This is all your fault! Everything is your fault!" Naruto realized what he'd said and he stilled, the erratic rise and fall of his chest his only movement. Naruto waited for Obito to say something, but he felt the man release his arm. Naruto turned from his stomach onto his back. Obito had moved to his knees, eyes locked on a point on the wall. "I didn't mean it," Naruto mumbled.

"Yes, you did," Obito said, a sigh following. Obito placed a hand on the floor, prepared to push himself up, but Naruto grabbed his arms and pulled him forward. The two ended up sprawled across the floor, their partially made futon separating them from the chilly floor. Naruto held Obito there, arms tight around the man's waist, knowing well that Obito would pull away in more ways than one. Naruto wasn't a fool. 

"I didn't mean it," Naruto repeated. Obito's dark eye had turned red, the sharingan almost daring Naruto to say something else, to hurt Obito just a little more. "I'm sorry, alright? I accepted your part in this almost two years ago. I know it's not all on you. It's not. You don't have to run away."

Naruto released his hold on Obito and Obito moved from over him. They both sat up on the futon, their knees barely brushing. The one blanket Naruto had managed to get on the bed was twisted up beneath them. Naruto rubbed his right shoulder, gently massaging the sore muscles. Obito didn't offer to apologize, but the man hadn't done anything wrong. Naruto knew he should have never put his hands on Obito, but he'd given in to emotions, as he often did. Naruto stopped massaging his shoulder and fell back. One hand atop his stomach, the other resting near his side, Naruto took in the way the light passing through the clouds looked spread out across their room. The light above their futon was off, but it should have been on. The interior of the room was dim, making everything appear dreary.

"Why would she want someone like me? I'm no good for anyone," Naruto frowned, raising his right hand to look at the scars and rough skin. He wondered if Obito felt the same way. Kiba had loved Hinata and he'd been furious for months. The friendship and one-sided rivalry had never really been repaired. Because Hinata had loved Naruto, when he was undeserving. 

"Sometimes other people see things about us that we might miss, but I've asked myself that question before. I think we all have," Obito answered, overlooking the fact that it had been a rhetorical question. Naruto turned his head to look at Obito. "You staring at me isn't much of a reply. Sometimes I forget you're still just a kid."

"I'm not a kid, dattebayo!" Naruto jerked upright and grabbed a fistful of the front of Obito's yukata. Obito rolled his eyes and placed a hand on top of Naruto's, trying to ease the grip on his yukata. Naruto tightened the hold.

"It wasn't an insult."

"The hell it wasn't!"

Somehow, they were fighting again and Naruto ended up face down on the futon, squirming and cussing. Obito put a knee into Naruto's back and the blond finally stilled, though the muffled, one-sided onslaught continued for several minutes. Obito leaned down, his mouth close to Naruto's ear. Naruto tensed and Obito allowed the man a moment. They hadn't fought so bad in months, but they'd scrapped plenty over their time together in the war. Obito had blackened Naruto's eye on more than one occasion and Naruto had returned the favor by bloodying his nose. And then they'd apologized and moved on. They did so every time. Yet every new fight was honestly a continuation of the last.

"If I let you go, are you going to take another swing at me?"

Obito stayed in that position until Naruto finally shook his head, a muffled apology spoken as an afterthought, then Obito released him again. Obito sank back onto the futon with a sigh. Naruto rounded on Obito, grabbed the front of Obito's yukata, and pulled the man in again. Naruto smashed his lips against Obito's, leaving Obito momentarily stunned. When Obito recovered, he tangled his fingers in blonde hair and revelled in the rough kiss. It was messy, with too much teeth and tongues that were all too eager. They tasted like shogayaki, namasu, and jasmine tea, where someone else might have wanted mint. Every time Obito drew back to end the kiss, Naruto leaned in again, and suddenly it was less about lip contact and more about any contact. Naruto kissed Obito's left cheek, right below the patch, then he peppered quick, feverish kisses along Obito's jaw. He was clumsy and inexperienced, but he tried. Lavender clung to their clothes, the wondrous scent almost dizzying in nature. Naruto undid the knot on Obito's yukata and Obito shoved him back.

"What's wrong? You were fine a minute ago," Naruto frowned, leaning in again. Obito let him trail kisses along warm flesh, but when Naruto's hands began to move again, Obito stopped him. "I apologized," Naruto said, as if that meant everything to Obito. They'd always apologized for one thing or another, and that had been enough.

"Why are you so keen on this?" Obito fixed his yukata to cover his exposed chest, so Naruto looked away.

"You want to talk about this _now_? We don't," Naruto began, brows furrowed, "we don't talk about this stuff. We never talk about it. I thought that was alright." Naruto didn't lean in again. He fidgeted, fingers laced and unlaced too many times. He hadn't felt so hyperactive since his early teens. "Can we just not talk about it? I'm not going to tell you I'm in love with you or that I expect something major from you. I just thought," Naruto stopped, sliding fingers through his messy hair. He didn't know what he'd been thinking. They didn't do those things. "Forget it," Naruto mumbled. 

They sat there for a few awkward minutes, neither one willing to continue the conversation. Naruto was too embarrassed about being stopped, and he guessed that Obito felt the same level of embarrassment from being groped. Naruto hadn't even gotten that far. He told himself it didn't count as _groping_ because he knew about groping. When he was fifteen, some waitress at one of Jiraiya's favorite haunts had decided to grab his ass and he'd shoved her into a table. All the drinks she'd been carrying had crashed onto the floor, making a lot of noise and getting a lot of attention. He'd been so embarrassed he'd run out without retrieving the old pervert. Naruto had never tried touching someone else before. The farthest he'd gone was kissing, so that was really all he knew, and he knew he wasn't the greatest. He felt foolish. He refused to apologize for his actions, so the awkward silence reigned for several more minutes. 

"I'm not apologizing, if that's what you're waiting for," Naruto spoke, sounding as irritated as he felt. His embarrassment came in waves, rising with his anger and ebbing with his shame. Obito's dark eye was on him then and he crossed his arms over his chest, a show of self-defense when everything urged him to be aggressive. "What?"

"Do you find me attractive?" 

Obito sounded genuinely confused, as if he couldn't believe that Naruto saw something in him. At the question, Naruto suddenly felt as if the room were too hot, as if the sun itself had found a home in his body. Naruto licked his lips, mouth far too dry for his liking. Did he find Obito attractive? Naruto looked at Obito, really looked at Obito, and he could say that he did, which brought no sense of relief. He found _women_ attractive, with big breasts and long legs, with sweet voices and long, flowing hair. For some reason, he thought of the crush he'd had on Sakura and he felt dirty for it. She hadn't fit into those categories at all, and yet he'd lusted after her until she finally set him straight during the war. How had he gone from lusting after Sakura to lusting after Obito? The two were night and day. Naruto let his eyes drift down the length of Obito's body, then back up, pausing to take in the fact that the yukata hadn't really been secured. Naruto reached up to rub the back of his head, fingers feeling for the scab on his scalp. 

"Yeah. I guess. Yes," Naruto said, the response as awkward as the air around them. Obito gave Naruto a look he couldn't fully describe, so he looked away. "So I'm not attractive enough for you or something?" Naruto risked a glance to the side, only to find Obito studying his profile. He realized rather late that the heat he felt was a sign of him blushing, and that Obito seemed to find something fascinating about Naruto's embarrassment. "Is that it?"

"I kiss you, don't I?"

"That doesn't mean much," Naruto lied, slowly turning to face the man. One corner of Obito's lips was upturned, the partial smile one that left Naruto scrambling for other things to say. His brain short-circuited, leaving him grasping at words that quickly took flight. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Have you ever done this before, Naruto?" Obito still seemed amused, though the smile didn't mock Naruto. The blond pursed his lips, then he squinted at Obito, torn between lying and telling the truth. "You haven't," Obito answered for him.

"I've done some things!"

"What have you done then?"

"If you're so experienced, what have you done?"

Naruto watched the smile disappear, and he wondered if he'd asked the wrong thing. Both of them had always had more important matters. To Naruto, training had always mattered more. He suspected that Obito had also been driven, as the Uchiha hadn't become so strong by focusing on romantic relationships. Naruto couldn't recall very much about romantic exchanges between Kakashi and Obito, but Naruto had always thought that some relationships went far beyond something as basic as physical affection. Naruto had never been a part of that sort of relationship, but it had to exist, and if it existed, he decided that it had existed between Kakashi and Obito. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe eight months hadn't been enough. Of course eight months hadn't been enough. Naruto fidgeted again, stretching his legs out before himself. 

"I've never tried," Obito shrugged. "I used to be a romantic. I spent a lot of time daydreaming about different ways of confessing my feelings. I was so sure that Rin was the one. It's not easy watching the person you love die, yet in some ways, I think it's just as hard to miss those final moments." Obito stared at the windows. When had it gotten so dark? Naruto barely made out the man's facial features. But he didn't want to ruin whatever was happening between them just to add light to the dark room. He wondered if the darkness made it easier to speak. "Physical affection and sex don't really matter as much to me anymore. They hadn't mattered to him either," Obito said, referring to Kakashi. "It matters to you though."

"Well," Naruto stalled, allowing himself more time to collect his thoughts. He'd always thought he'd find a wife and start a family. The thought of a relationship without that sort of intimacy left him feeling unsure. Even if he had no relationship, he still craved touch. He'd spent so many years without that sort of affection. The only touch he'd known had hurt him. "It does. I've never had someone return my feelings. You know what it's like to have a bad upbringing. It really messes you up," Naruto said, voice softer near the end of his words. "Training was always more important though. I chased my dreams and put that part aside for later. I'm pretty late to the game, huh?"

"You're attractive, Naruto." 

"Well, yeah," Naruto spoke, brushing the words aside. He hid behind bravado then, but he had a feeling Obito knew his true feelings. He'd needed to hear those words. Naruto plastered a grin onto his face and gave Obito's left shoulder a playful shove. Obito played along, as if they hadn't just exposed themselves. "I'm beat," Naruto announced, feigning a yawn. He smiled again, but Obito seemed to have that look again, the one Naruto couldn't quite describe. 

"Don't you want to keep going?"

"Keep going? As in," Naruto trailed off, swallowing hard. Obito nodded. 

Naruto was so quiet, too quiet. He wondered if Obito thought he'd broken. Naruto moved closer, shifting so that he almost sat in seiza. His left hand hovered in the air, fingers twitching at the thought of touching the man. He didn't know what he was doing. Obito took Naruto's hand and guided it beneath the yukata. Naruto ran his hand over Obito's chest, then he moved his other hand beneath the yukata. He pushed the fabric from Obito's shoulders, exposing the man. Naruto saw pale skin, as mismatched as Obito's eyes, and he touched every area, fingers tracing where white met Obito's actual flesh. Naruto rested his hands on Obito's chest and leaned in to press his lips to Obito's, taking in the lingering taste of their jasmine tea. Their kisses and touches had always been frenzied and desperate. Naruto felt Obito's hands at his waist, fingers pressing into the yukata. The hands didn't stay there though, as Obito undid the knot and pushed Naruto's yukata from his shoulders. 

Naruto's hands stayed above Obito's waist, but Obito's hands dipped dangerously low. The kisses stopped when Naruto felt his yukata parting again. He stared down at his boxers, watching with bated breath as the hand grew closer and closer. He looked up when he felt lips on his cheek, the kisses capturing his attention then, distracting him. When he felt Obito's hand grasp his hardened member, Naruto inhaled sharply and ended up choking on the air. Obito snorted, pausing to find humor in Naruto's reaction. Thoroughly embarrassed, Naruto rested his forehead against Obito's right shoulder. It became a chorus of heavy breathing and groans. They parted only to shove the boxers down, and then Obito kissed his shoulder. Naruto had never imagined his first sexual experience would be with a man, let alone Obito, tucked away in the third floor room of an Amegakure ryokan. Naruto wrapped his arms around Obito.

"I'm close," Naruto warned, eyes clenched shut. Obito didn't stop. Naruto tipped his head back, his muscles tensing, and moaned. Naruto let his arms drop and he rested his forehead against Obito's shoulder again. It was a mess. He knew it was a mess. Naruto didn't know what to say, so he was thankful that his breathing hadn't evened out. 

"Come on," Obito said, breath warm against Naruto's heated flesh. Obito patted Naruto's right thigh urging him to move so that they could clean up. Naruto didn't know whether to thank Obito or to file the exchange away as one more thing that they wouldn't discuss. "You don't have to say anything, so stop scrambling for words." Obito lightly knocked his knuckles against Naruto's head. 

"Can we do that again?" Obito chuckled, the only response Naruto received. By the time they settled down to sleep, the entire room was dark. Once again, Obito turned his back to Naruto, leaving the blond to run a hand along Obito's spine. "Goodnight." 

Obito didn't reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose to include something sexual to show the differences between them. Obito is struggling with opening up. He thinks he's actually doing a good job (lol). It may or may not get better.


	4. Rivers and Roads

Three days passed, and Konan showed up at the ryokan to collect them. Their belongings packed, everything sealed into scrolls, they followed the woman through the streets. Naruto noticed the way people seemed to stop and stare, as if Konan were some type of holy figure, someone to praise, someone to worship. Neither man tried starting a conversation, and Konan seemed entirely uninterested. Her attitude led Naruto to believe that it would be another battle, another fight against the six paths of Pain. Unlike last time, he had a better understanding of what he needed to do, and he had Obito beside him to help. One quick glance to the right assured Naruto that the man was there. For once, the overcast sky wasn't weeping, though fog still lingered around the village. It was different than in Numachi, but it could have been the streets or the buildings or the way people parted for them like the parting of the sea. Amegakure had always seemed like a miserable place, as Naruto had lived and breathed clear skies and sunshine, but he found he didn't mind the clouds or fog. Sunlight had a way of chasing away shadows, revealing cracks, nooks, and crannies, and Naruto no longer felt comfortable enough to reveal those parts of himself. Maybe one day, he thought. Maybe someday. 

Instead of meeting with the deva path, they met with Nagato. They walked by the bodies of the other paths, and Naruto noted the absence of the deva path. After a quick scan, he couldn't feel the chakra signature, so he had to assume the puppet man was outside of the building, somewhere within the village. As Konan stood beside Nagato, she locked eyes with Obito. They continued that way until Naruto cleared his throat. 

"What did you decide?" Naruto met Nagato's gaze and the man barely managed a nod. The gesture was an answer without really answering. Naruto waited for the corpses to rise from their resting places, but the paths remained immobile.

"We'll step aside," Konan confirmed, the beginnings of a smile on her face. She seemed relieved, in a way, as if she'd spent years just holding her breath, waiting for a time when their plans would come to an end. "You should know that the Akatsuki will continue its mission. We no longer have control over that."

"He's going to come for your eyes," Obito spoke, saying what they all were thinking. Konan frowned then, expression grim enough that Naruto wondered if she'd imagined losing her childhood friend. "He'll kill you both. There's nothing you can do about it."

"I've considered the possibility. I've thought about the end often, and I've known for a long time that should something happen to me, someone else would claim these accursed eyes," Nagato said. The man was resigned, and Naruto realized that they were too much alike then. Naruto saw the sad state of the man's body, but he also saw the sad state of the man's soul. At one time, they'd both existed in the proverbial sunlight, but circumstances beyond their control had changed them.

"So help us. You don't need to die to atone for your sins. We'll protect you," Naruto promised, his fists clenched at his sides. He saw the way Konan's gaze softened, the way her lips twitched for a smile. "We can dismantle the Akatsuki. We can stop them from capturing the tailed beasts. We can make the world a better place. My way will work," Naruto said, selling his passion in the form of a promise, almost like a plea.

"I want you to destroy the eyes. That's my request," Nagato said, words spoken as if he hadn't even heard Naruto. Frustrated, the blond prepared to argue his point, but Obito placed a hand atop Naruto's shaking right hand. Naruto turned his head to stare at Obito, but Obito kept his gaze on Nagato.

"Alright," Obito replied, answering for the both of them. "You should leave Amegakure."

"We aren't going anywhere. This place has been our home. It will continue to be our home," Konan said, shaking her head. 

Nagato no longer looked at them. Head bowed, eyes trained on the floor, Nagato was resigned to his fate. Obito was the one to approach the man. Kunai out, sharpened tip just waiting to destroy the two eyes that had caused them so much pain, Obito stood in front of Nagato and cut the eyes from the man's head. Naruto closed his eyes, focusing on inhaling and exhaling. He hadn't wanted it. That wasn't how he handled things. That was how Obito handled things. Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes to see Konan. 

"This was his decision, _our_ decision. Make the peace, Menma. In the face of adversity, sometimes you have to do things you may not like, be someone you might hate, but don't let those moments define you. We believe in you," Konan said, removing her hand. Naruto, suddenly struck by her words, managed a small nod, and then the moment passed. Obito was at his side again.

Leaving didn't feel right, but Naruto knew they had no other choice. The only remaining rinnegan belonged to Obito. At some point in time, the enemy would figure it out, and Naruto didn't know how they would handle the situation. He knew his Obito would destroy the rinnegan before ever letting Tobi claim it, but Naruto would never allow that to happen. Naruto had seen enough eye theft to last him several lifetimes. No one would harm Obito. No one. But what if they had no choice? Anxiety kept the thoughts turning around and around, endless questions echoing through his mind. He gave himself a headache, and it stayed with him through the beginning part of their journey from Amegakure. If Obito knew about Naruto's discomfort, the man didn't bring it up. One thought struck him, paralyzing him. He stopped walking, eyes trained on Obito's back. 

What if Obito died? 

"Is this about what happened with Nagato and Konan? Are you angry?" Obito had stopped too, and he turned to face Naruto. Naruto hated to remember the bloody scene in Amegakure, but his mind conjured up images of empty eye sockets and his stomach rolled. He closed his eyes and focused on not throwing up. "I did it because I knew you wouldn't. That's not who you are, and that's fine. You still try to save everyone, and that's impossible, Naruto."

"What if they come for your eye? Will you gouge it out too? Would you just walk to your death too?"

"Is this about me, or is this about you?"

"You, damn it!"

Naruto knew it was a lie, but it was too late to take it back. Months ago, they'd promised transparency, but they'd never gotten there. They hid, behind lies, behind silence, and Naruto hated it, but he didn't like the alternative. He gave. He gave, and he gave. Obito closed off, every single time. Naruto received bits and pieces of conversations they should have had, and he didn't know what to do with them. He wanted to focus on training again. He wanted to go back to being fifteen again, seventeen again, and forget, but that wasn't how life worked. Frustrated, Naruto tugged at his hair. Obito had given him a haircut, and it was nice to look more like himself again, but it would have been better to feel more like himself again. Obito turned to look at the large field stretching out to the right and left, the tall grass swaying in the early afternoon breeze. In the center of the right field, the branches of a red maple tree swayed in the breeze, the temperature and conditions keeping the leaves alive. Someone had taken the time to plant it there, and it had prospered.

Naruto expected harsh words, similar to the ones Obito had spoken when discussing Kakashi's death; instead, Obito walked back toward Naruto and took one of Naruto's hands. They stepped off the small path and ventured deeper into the high grass. Obito led the way toward the red maple tree, never releasing Naruto's hand. They stood in the small clearing surrounding the tree. Naruto saw nothing but grass in every direction. The path had disappeared. The flat land continued, until the ground became a rolling hill. As they stood there, Obito released Naruto's sweaty palm, allowing the blond to wipe his hand off on the left thigh of his pants.

"You've never been very good at letting go. I know that. Look at what happened with Sasuke," Obito said, the words bringing a blush to Naruto's cheeks. "I can't promise you that I'm always going to be here, but I can promise that I'll do my best not to leave you."

"You better not," Naruto forced out, shaking a fist at Obito. The humor wasn't there. "Why'd we come here anyway? It's just a tree."

"It's an old tree. It dates back to the Shodaime. He gifted trees to other nations before the biju were divided. This was his gift to Rain. He chose to gift different trees to different villages to show that each was unique. The village of Amegakure placed this tree here. No one knows why this spot was chosen," Obito said, reaching out to place his hand against the trunk. Naruto stared at Obito, then his blue eyes drifted up toward the tree leaves, the deep color of them contrasting with the color of his eyes. "I used to come here a lot."

"Maybe we shouldn't be here then," Naruto frowned. He reached up to pluck one of the leaves from the tree. He kept it in the center of his palm, until the breeze eventually swept it away. "It's a nice spot though. It's peaceful," Naruto added. 

"We'll start in the Land of Rivers. It won't take long to get there. If we can't find anything, we'll have to reach out for help. I'd rather not," Obito sighed, reaching up to adjust the patch over his left eye. Naruto understood. 

"If we need help, then we need help, and I'll handle it. I've relied on you too much. I'm still the Nanadaime. This is still my responsibility. And you're right. I can't save everyone, but that doesn't mean that some people can't redeem themselves. You're an example of that. Look at what we just did," Naruto said, pointing off in the direction of the village they'd left behind. "We saved Konoha from being leveled."

"You're still the same Naruto, underneath it all," Obito remarked, lips quirked for a smile. "Come on. The hideout is southeast of here. If we keep going, we'll get there before sunrise."

"I can't wait to kick Zetsu's ass. We'll show them all, dattebayo!"

They took their time leaving the field, but they picked up the pace as soon as they reached the narrow path. They ran through the afternoon and into the evening, and then they took a break to cram ration bars down their throats and drink some water from their canteens. The flat land gave way to steep hills, the sudden change in landscape forcing them up steep inclines. The nation was nothing but hills and valleys, and Naruto knew that the closer they got to the hidden village, the worse the terrain would get. Near midnight, they made another brief stop. A patrol of shinobi forced them into the trees, both of them hiding amongst the foliage. The rest of the night was nothing but fighting off the urge to sleep. Naruto missed Kurama. During their travels, Naruto took comfort in knowing that the nine tails was there with him. At the darkest hours, with his many doubts, Naruto looked inward for strength. Not knowing what happened to his partner left Naruto feeling empty. He promised himself he'd find Kurama, that he would find some way to make things right.

Just as Obito had predicted, they arrived at the hideout an hour before dawn. The sky had lightened considerably, even though night fought for dominance. Obito grabbed Naruto, wrapping one arm about the man's chest and pressing a hand over Naruto's mouth. They disappeared into the shadows, and then into kamui. Before they'd left the area, Naruto heard a string of curses. Hidan. Lost in the dimension of stone, the two waited for a moment, and then they appeared within the cave. Weapons drawn, ready for a fight, they found themselves in a deserted cave. The two went in different directions, both of them searching for any clue to the whereabouts of Zetsu. Naruto saw the shadows shift, and then he heard an explosion. Naruto turned and ran in the direction of the noise, but Black Zetsu seemed to materialize from the ground, crawling out as if it had been waiting for them. Naruto barely had time to dodge before the creature was upon him. Another explosion rocked the cave and the ceiling overhead began to crumble, large chunks of rock falling, smashing against the ground. So focused on the falling rocks, Naruto lost track of Black Zetsu.

"Obito!" 

A chunk of rock hit Naruto's back, but he spun to the right, dodging a crushing blow. Naruto formed a rasengan and smashed the next large rock that threatened his life. He ran toward the exit of the tunnel, dodging rocks as he went. When the collapse of the cave blocked his path, Naruto came to a sudden stop. He had nowhere to go. He had the option of doubling back to search for another way out or using a rasengan to smash the rocks in the way. Looking up at the roof of the cave, he knew that smashing the rocks would only lead to a larger cave in. Behind him, the rocks blocked his way back to the other section of the cave. He was trapped. Naruto punched the pile of rocks, knowing that the hit was useless. His left hand felt along his back. His shirt was torn and when he pulled his hand back, his palm was slick with blood. 

"Naruto!"

"Obito!"

Obito appeared beside him and the two disappeared, leaving the rest of the corridor to collapse. They reappeared outside of the hideout. The entrance had collapsed, a collection of large boulders blocking their way. Naruto collapsed onto the ground, staring at the destruction. He still felt the rush of adrenaline, and he knew that Obito felt the same way. Naruto gave Obito a once over, but his eyes stopped at Obito's back. The man had a hole through his chest and back. Naruto jumped to his feet and grabbed the front of Obito's shirt. He pulled Obito in and started examining the wound. He wiped the blood from Obito's chin, a crimson smear the only evidence of the blood. 

"What the hell happened?" Naruto didn't know whether to shake Obito or start tearing through their supplies for the first-aid kit. Obito pressed a hand over the wound and hunched over. "What do I do? Will you heal? What happened?" Naruto was panicking, wanting to do something, to say something. He didn't know where to begin.

"Stop. Shut up. Give me a minute," Obito managed, wincing. He recalled the fight he'd had with Kakashi, the burn of the lightning as it cut right through him. He spat, the blood and saliva aimed away from Naruto. "I found an army of them. Would you stand still? Calm down. I took care of them. One just surprised me. That's all."

"Use your sharingan!"

"I didn't think of that," Obito replied, the sarcasm and the eye roll only irritating Naruto. He stood up straight, though he kept the hand over his chest. He wondered if it would scar, if it would match the scar that Kakashi had given him. "What happened to you?"

"Black Zetsu. He surprised me too. I got hit with a rock. I think he was sending a pretty clear message. He got away. I had him and he got away," Naruto sighed, wiping his bloody hands off on his thighs. Obito spat more blood on the ground. "It explains why we came across Hidan. I bet Kakuzu was there too. Maybe we should track them. They couldn't have gotten far. Will you be alright?"

"I'm not dead," Obito replied, as if that were enough of an answer. He chuckled, finding humor where none existed. Naruto kicked a stray rock toward the blocked entrance, then turned his back to the cave. "It's worth a shot. I can take them."

"Then let's go. We've got a religious fanatic and a miser to find," Naruto frowned. He led the way, allowing Obito to bring up the rear. "If we can't find them, I'll send a toad to Pervy Sage. I'm not sure if Black Zetsu saw you, but he saw me. The sooner we take him out, the better."

They quickly picked up the trail, but the physical trail ended at the border. They took a chance and headed east, toward Tanzaku. With the sun high in the sky, the two stopped at the village, and Naruto lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face. He reached out, sensing for chakra signatures, but there were too many people, and he hadn't picked up anything even remotely close to the feel of Hidan and Kakuzu. They'd stopped near the entrance to the village, and Naruto paced back and forth, reminding Obito of a caged animal. They had nothing to go on, and that meant they needed help. Obito looked skyward, visible eye finding images in wisps of clouds. They'd wasted hours on the hunt, hours that they would never recover, and Naruto knew that Tobi knew of him. Black Zetsu wouldn't sit on the valuable information, not when Tobi needed the information, not when it would help in the scheme to free Kaguya. 

Resigned, Naruto bit down on his thumb and completed a summoning. When the smoke cleared, he found himself staring at a small Gamatatsu. Naruto squinted at the toad, while Gamatatsu smiled back at him. 

"Oi, why are you so small, Gamatatsu? What happened?" Naruto looked over at Obito, expecting the man to know something about what was going on. 

"Who are you? Are you a new summoner? I'm hungry. Can I get snacks now?" Gamatatsu continued staring, seemingly so pleased with himself, while Naruto's mouth fell open. He'd completed the summoning properly. He'd done everything exactly how Jiraiya had taught him. "Hey, are you alright?"

"It looks like you're still contracted with the toads, but they've reverted to how they were in this time. I wonder if the same thing happened with the fox," Obito thought aloud. The hole in his chest had healed, leaving no mark behind. Naruto looked between the two, then he groaned. 

"Well, what the hell am I supposed to do with them now? That means Gamakichi is the same size!" 

"You could try feeding me," Gamatatsu suggested. Naruto squinted at the toad again and Gamatatsu smiled. 

"Look, I need you to deliver a message for me. It needs to get to Pervy -- it needs to get to Jiraiya, alright? It's important. Tell him to meet Naruto in two days, at noon, in his favorite bar in Tanzaku-gai," Naruto instructed the toad. Gamatatsu nodded twice, showing that he'd heard the message. 

"You're Naruto?"

"Yeah, and you're Gamatatsu. It's nice to meet you. Again." Naruto rubbed the back of his head and Gamatatsu disappeared in a puff of smoke. The toad hadn't even said goodbye. Naruto looked to Obito, silently begging him for more of an explanation. Naruto ran his hands over his face, clearly frustrated with the turn of events. He'd lost Kurama, and his summons were too young for battle. 

"They're still useful summons."

"They're tiny! I don't need travel size versions!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This seemed easy. I wonder...


	5. Pervy Sage

That night, Tanzaku-gai came alive. The Rice Festival taking place drew large crowds. For Naruto, navigating the cramped streets quickly became a game. He took Obito's left hand and dragged the man through the growing crowd. Together, they passed the numerous food stalls, heading deeper into the festival center. The air smelled heavenly, a mixture of something sweet and fresh tempura, and Naruto found himself stopping to appreciate the food. Everywhere they looked, stalls were selling sake and amazake, celebrating what had once been the harvest season for a village that had outgrown its farming roots. Eventually, the warmth of the evening and the heat from the stalls forced Naruto to slow his pace, to regain control over his desire to experience everything the festival offered. Obito led Naruto to a stall selling amazake and the two enjoyed a couple of drinks together. They hadn't had amazake in years. Naruto couldn't remember the last festival he'd attended. His mind took him back to his travels with Jiraiya. Hot days. Popped balloons. Popsicles. He thought of all the things he and Obito had experienced so far, things he'd never thought he'd experience again. 

Amazake quickly turned to sake. They toasted to the future, whatever that meant, and drank until Naruto's cheeks were flushed. Obito had to pry the empty cup from Naruto's hands, and then they went back to exploring again. The entire village was bright and lively, like a beacon in the night. Naruto knew the crowds bothered Obito. Throughout their time in the village, Obito had remained at Naruto's side, never once complaining about the way Naruto dragged him along. Obito appreciated the festival, but they hadn't been around so many people in a long time. All of the noise reminded them both of the war, dredging up the worst of it all. When Obito looked ready to end their fun, Naruto led the man to a stall dedicated to goldfish scooping. 

"Sakura liked this game," Naruto said. He looked too focused on the game, following the swimming goldfish with his eyes as his paper scoop hovered over the water. Obito nodded, even though Naruto missed the gesture. "Every festival, I'd tried to win her a fish, but I never succeeded. One year, at the cherry blossom festival, a guy pitied me and gave me the fish he'd won. Sakura threw it back in my face. She was pretty mean. I thought of it as some kind of challenge," Naruto continued. 

"I could see that." Obito watched Naruto dunk the paper scoop into the water and try to sweep up a struggling orange and white goldfish. For a moment, Obito thought Naruto had succeeded, but the paper scoop broke and the fish swam away. "Let me try," Obito spoke, interrupting Naruto before the blond could pay for another shot. 

"It's really hard, so if you don't," Naruto began, cut off at Obito's quick win. Obito had captured the goldfish Naruto had almost caught. Frowning, Naruto took that as a challenge and tried once more. While the stall owner placed Obito's fish into a small glass fishbowl, Naruto chased after fish with his new scoop. Time and time again, the scoop broke. "What the hell," Naruto grumbled to himself. 

"You're leaving the scoop in too long now. It's paper and a small stick. It breaks easily," Obito informed him, stopping Naruto from lowering the scoop into the water. "Watch and wait. Just like before. Now. Lower it now!"

Naruto dunked the scoop into the water, angled it, and swept a fish up. The fish squirmed, but the paper held. The stall owner smiled at the two of them and placed the second fish in with the first. The two fish circled around the small bowl before they eventually settled. After the two men left the stall, Obito carried the fishbowl, while Naruto found some udon for their dinner. The inn they'd found only had one room left, a room that wasn't really a room at all. The room had been used for storage, though the owner, a middle-aged man relocating from the northern capital, had cleared its contents to offer them a decent place to sleep. Their bed for the night was a single futon, all the man had to spare. Naruto liked the cramped space. He felt surrounded and secure. The room had one window and Obito had quickly closed the curtains. The light fixture cast the shadows of clouds on the walls and the floor, reminding Naruto of Konoha. 

The two sat by the window, though not directly in front of it, and ate the room temperature udon. Naruto poked through the noodles to tap his chopsticks on the bottom of the container. He'd wanted ramen, but they hadn't had any luck finding a stall serving decent ramen.

"What if he asks questions?"

"Your message guarantees he's going to ask questions. You blew our cover."

"He's my godfather. He'll understand. I know it," Naruto frowned, stuffing some noodles into his mouth. Obito poked and prodded his own food, answering without answering. "Maybe we could tell him it was a seal."

"And when he asks to see the seal? Are you going to tell him I've returned from beyond the grave to help you save the world?" 

"No. I'll tell him you crawled right out of hell. Your attitude is proof enough." Obito laughed at the words and Naruto blushed, covering up his reaction by focusing on his food. They fell into silence for several minutes. "Let's tell him the truth. He cares about me. We can swear him to secrecy. If we fail, can't you use a genjutsu that wouldn't hurt him?"

"You'd trust me to do that?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? You've earned my trust. You trust me too, right?"

"Yes, I do." 

They listened to the sounds of the festival going on outside of their window. The lights from the numerous stalls lit up the cream-colored curtains in red, green, and blue. Naruto finished his food first, then he ate the remainder of Obito's food. The udon was good, very flavorful, but not what either of them wanted. When the first loud _pop_ sounded, followed by a sizzling sound, Naruto dove at Obito and drove them both flat on the floor. Obito stared up at Naruto, then placed a hand on Naruto's cheek. The loud noise occurred again and Naruto twitched. He felt his heart beating, far too loud, far too fast. They lay like that for several minutes, until Naruto identified the noise. Fireworks. Closing his eyes, Naruto relaxed in Obito's hold, too embarrassed to meet the man's gaze. He'd thought of explosions. He'd heard screaming and he'd found himself at war again. People outside were screaming in delight, the crowd buzzing with excitement, and Naruto had fallen apart. Naruto moved from atop Obito and stared at the colors flashing against the curtain. Obito touched Naruto's arm. 

"Do you want to watch the fireworks?"

"I really don't want to go back out there."

"Come on."

Obito got to his feet and offered a hand to help Naruto stand. Naruto suspected that Obito really didn't want to go, but he wasn't going to argue with the man. Offhand, Naruto couldn't remember the last time he'd seen fireworks, but he knew it had to do with a celebration. He and his friends had once planned an entire festival built around the end of the war. They'd all promised to attend together. Naruto had declared that the festival would be the biggest in the history of the village, then they went around the circle sharing ideas and hopes and dreams. At the time, they'd talked about their futures. Ino had wanted to retire and start a family, where she'd have two kids, a boy and a girl; Sakura had wanted to continue with her career as a medic and expand on Tsunade's work. Sasuke hadn't answered, not that it was a surprise. Kakashi had talked about retirement, and Naruto recalled the way Kakashi's eyes had briefly cut to Obito. By that point, they'd all grown accustomed to Obito's presence. Naruto had wanted world peace, as impossible as it had sounded. Then again, their numbers had dwindled. World peace would have been between a handful of good people, most of them from Konoha. Obito had dreamed of forgiveness and acceptance, both of which he'd received. 

As they exited onto the streets of Tanzaku-gai, Naruto realized that his own dream was within reach again. They had a long road ahead, but it wasn't impossible. They had more than a mere handful of people. They had time and resources. 

"Let's find a park," Obito suggested, drawing Naruto's attention. Naruto nodded, even though the nonverbal response went unacknowledged. 

The park they found was relatively peaceful. Most of the people had gathered in the center of the festival, where they had the best view of the fireworks; Obito had led Naruto away from the loud noises and cramped streets. Obito took a seat on a wooden bench, so Naruto claimed a spot too. Located near a swing set, the bench faced the direction of the fireworks. Whenever one went off, colors flashing in the night sky, the two had a view of the explosion of colors just over the tops of the trees. Red. Green. Gold. The fireworks exploded in all colors and shapes and sizes, punctuating the end of the first night of the festival. Obito stretched his right arm out along the back of the bench, while Naruto sagged in his seat. Naruto wondered what his friends would have felt, watching the fireworks, celebrating the end of their hardships. Naruto felt as if he didn't belong there, as if his survival had been a mistake. Even though he told himself he needed to continue to right the wrongs, he felt guilty. He had survived.

"You've been quiet," Obito noted, as if trying to lure Naruto into a conversation they both weren't ready to have. Naruto shrugged a shoulder, choosing to dismiss the question. "Is this about what happened in our room?" _Our room_ made Naruto feel a certain way he couldn't quite describe. Hesitating for a moment, Naruto shook his head.

"Do you ever feel bad for living? Like survivor's guilt or something. That's a thing, isn't it? I think Sakura mentioned it," Naruto trailed off, eyes locked on the fireworks. He thought he heard Obito shift around, and then he felt an arm draped around him. "When does it stop feeling so bad?"

"It gets better. It hurts a little less. It doesn't go away, not completely, but you learn to live with it. Some days it's a heavy burden; other days, you hardly notice it." Obito rubbed Naruto's right arm, as if the action would lessen the pain. Naruto appreciated the attempt. He knew Obito struggled when it came to emotional connections and comfort. "Once we check a few more things off our to-do list, you'll feel better."

"Yeah," Naruto mumbled. He leaned into Obito and he felt the man stiffen. Obito did that sometimes, whenever he was struggling, whenever his mind had wandered. Naruto didn't pull away, and Obito eventually relaxed. "I never thought I'd get to see Pervy Sage again." Naruto changed the subject. It was easier that way.

"Why do you call him that? Isn't it offensive?"

"He's a self-proclaimed super pervert, and he writes softcore porn."

"He wrote that garbage Kakashi used to read."

"It's not all garbage! There's action, romance, adventure. One had a mystery surrounding a suspicious death. It's just mostly about sex. Sex sells," Naruto said, shrugging. Obito chuckled and Naruto turned his head to smile at the Uchiha. "It was really great with him, you know? It was never boring. I really needed that. I needed someone to focus on me, even if Pervy Sage still wasted time on women and research. Kakashi-sensei always focused on Sasuke. I'm sure he didn't mean to make us feel neglected, but, well, we were."

Obito listened to him, allowing him time to reminisce, time to unload all of the words he'd saved throughout the years. When the final fireworks lit up the night, Naruto found himself yawning. His anxiety and the flashbacks had eased. He always felt better after talking. There hadn't been enough time for that during the war. Actions outweighed words. Obito was the one to coax Naruto from the park bench. Along the way home, they each bought kakigori. Obito chose strawberry, while Naruto opted for plum. Obito's lips and tongue were stained red, while Naruto's turned purple. The color and flavor reminded Naruto of his childhood, of hot summer nights spent prowling the streets for extra food. Often, far too often, he'd stolen food, and he recalled stolen kakigori. It had been lemon flavored, his least favorite flavor, but it had been delicious. He'd raced through the streets, treasuring the sour flavor, loving the way his lips puckered. It was gone too soon. The plum-flavored ice began to melt, the colorful water pooling in the bottom of his paper cup. Naruto eyed the red color of Obito's ice until the man held out the cup. 

"You might as well try it. You look like you're undressing it with your eyes," Obito spoke, giving the cup a little shake. Naruto took a spoonful of the strawberry ice and sucked the flavor from the ice. He let the ice melt in his mouth, then he swallowed the water. "Better?"

"It's not bad," Naruto decided. Somehow, he ended up with the strawberry ice, his own plum dessert going to Obito. "Hey, Obito?"

"Yes?"

"Let's travel, when this is over with. Not forever, but for a while. I wouldn't mind. I like seeing new places."

"Where would you want to go first?"

"Maybe Kumogakure, or anywhere in Lightning. It has to be different now. Or Uzushiogakure. Yeah, Uzushio. Can we go there?" Naruto looked to Obito for permission and Obito reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair. Naruto swatted the hand away, grumbling under his breath that he wasn't a little kid. 

"I've never been there. It's an island of ruins," Obito replied, words spoken within the halls of their inn. They'd abandoned the remains of their dessert and bid goodbye to the dwindling crowd. Once in their room, Naruto flopped onto their futon. "Shower and change. You're getting dirt in the bed."

They took turns showering, with Obito spending more time in the bathroom. He emerged without the eye patch on. With his left eye remaining closed, he reminded Naruto of Kakashi. Naruto thought that he might bridge the distance between them, but Obito turned his back to Naruto, adopting the usual position. Instead of maintaining a point of contact with Obito, Naruto turned his back to Obito.

The two spent the remaining time relaxing and exploring the festival. When the day of their meeting arrived, the two packed up their belongings, checked out of the inn, and headed to the bar. The bar where the two men waited was more of a hole in the wall than anything else. There was a bar to the left, with all four stools empty, and several tables scattered around the rest of the room. Naruto counted seven patrons, five of them men. One table was a table of four men, and they had cards and money on the table. When one of them caught Naruto staring, they all shifted to block Naruto's view of the money. Obito wanted to sit at the bar, so Naruto followed. The bar was a decent size and there was a variety of alcohol for sale. In memory of their last moments in the past, Naruto ordered a bottle of plum wine. They passed the time drinking and people watching. One bottle of wine turned to a bottle of sake, and then to ice water. Naruto watched the front door open and close, open and close, until he saw the familiar figure of his godfather. Nothing could have prepared Naruto for the moment. Seeing the toad sage alive and well was a proverbial punch to the gut. Jiraiya hadn't died yet, not in the current timeline, and without Pain, Jiraiya would go on living. That loss had really impacted Naruto's life. Jiraiya's death had helped to shape Naruto, another hardship in a life full of hardship. 

Jiraiya met Naruto's eyes and the two maintained eye contact for several minutes. When the sannin finally approached Naruto, he took a seat on Naruto's left and ordered a bottle of sake. At first, he remained quiet, focused only on his drink, and Naruto did nothing to break the silence. On Naruto's right, Obito continued people watching and nursing ice water. 

"Naruto is twelve years old. You got your facts wrong," Jiraiya began, punctuating the end of his words with a long drink of sake. Naruto rolled his eyes. "Why would you want to impersonate Naruto? Is this supposed to be an attempt on my life?"

"Listen, Pervy Sage, I'm Naruto. I'm still contracted with the toads. _You_ had me sign the contract. You taught me about summoning. You taught me the rasengan. I'm a sage too," Naruto said, reaching out to pull the bottle of sake away from the older man. Jiraiya squinted at Naruto, then laughed. The man clearly didn't believe Naruto. "Do you want me to prove it, old man?"

"Hey. What's with the name calling? Don't go around calling me those things. I'm Jiraiya, great toad sage, legendary sannin, and don't you forget it," Jiraiya replied, pointing an index finger in Naruto's direction. Obito snorted and Jiraiya leaned forward to peer down the bar at the Uchiha. "Is this your accomplice?"

"He's, uh, my partner. Yeah, my partner!" Naruto grinned, lightly nudging Obito's side. Jiraiya snorted, mimicking Obito, then downed another mouthful of sake. "Look, I'm Naruto and I can prove it."

"Don't even think about doing that in the middle of the bar," Obito interrupted, stopping Naruto from forming a rasengan. Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. Jiraiya raised a brow and Naruto frowned at him. 

"Right. Outside then."

They took their reunion outside of Tanzaku. Jiraiya had finished off his sake, but the alcohol hadn't made the man more agreeable. Naruto led the way, while Obito lagged behind, allowing the Naruto and Jiraiya to feel as if they had some privacy. They reached a small clearing between a group of trees, and Jiraiya slowed to a stop. Arms crossed over his chest, Jiraiya eyed Naruto, challenging the teen. Naruto left the backpack with Obito, then he stretched his arms over his head. Showing Jiraiya the rasengan took Naruto back to the first time he'd successfully completed the attack. Years felt like decades. Faced with his godfather again, Naruto discovered the pride he'd felt when he'd shown his Jiraiya the rasengan. The attack connected them. Jiraiya watched the formation, the way Naruto focused to shape the sphere, then his eyes strayed from Naruto's right hand to Naruto's face. After seeing the creation of the rasengan, followed by its quick death, Jiraiya stepped forward and tugged on Naruto's hair, shoving strands down as if trying to see someone else. 

"He looks like Minato. You know he looks like Minato," Obito said, walking over to the two. Obito had one strap of the backpack over his right shoulder, but he handed off the bag to Naruto. "He's Naruto," Obito confirmed. Jiraiya stopped destroying Naruto's hair and let out a frustrated breath. While Naruto muttered about his hair and tried fixing the blonde locks, Jiraiya turned to Obito.

"What the hell did you do?" Jiraiya grabbed a handful of Obito's shirt and tugged the man forward, bringing them eye to eye. Obito's feet left the ground, so Obito glanced down between them at Jiraiya's fist. "I know he's stupid," Jiraiya said, eyes momentarily cutting to Naruto. 

"Hey! I'm not stupid! Let go of him!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Jiraiya. When Jiraiya refused to release Obito, Naruto straightened up. "You might be my godfather, Pervy Sage, but that's my friend you're manhandling, and I told you to let go of him. Let go of him." Jiraiya looked from Naruto to Obito, then he released Obito's shirt. He didn't look happy about it, and Naruto swore he heard Jiraiya mutter something about attitudes.

"You're not twelve years old."

"I'm nineteen."

"Tell me it wasn't a seal."

"It wasn't a seal."

Naruto watched Jiraiya's shoulders slump. He'd expected a lot of reactions, but he'd hoped for something closer to joy. Seeing Jiraiya again had been a punch to the gut, but Naruto also felt as if he were flying, soaring above all of his problems. He had Jiraiya again. Reality set in though, as it always did, and he remembered Obito's words. His Jiraiya had died. The man he looked at then, the man falling apart over the appearance of his godson, wasn't his, never would be his, and that hurt more than he'd imagined. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he found himself searching Obito's face for answers to questions that hadn't fully formed. Why. Why couldn't he just have that moment? How. How could he move on? Naruto needed Sasuke to tell him to get his shit together. He needed a nice slap to draw him out of his thoughts. He settled for the way Obito looked into his eyes. When Jiraiya looked like he'd organized his thoughts, Naruto decided it was time to address the issue.

"We're not from this time. Don't ask me how we got here. I'm not going to answer that question. I need to know if I can count on you to help me. Right now," Naruto stopped, pausing to sigh, "right now we can't go back to Konoha. You're right. You said your Naruto is twelve years old. My friend is technically KIA. If we go to Konoha, we'll end up in Torture and Interrogation and I don't have time to waste." He waited for some type of response, but Jiraiya seemed to stare at him. Frowning, Naruto waved a hand at his godfather, trying to draw the man into the conversation. "Alright. What is it?"

"If you're Naruto," Jiraiya began.

"He's a complete fool," Obito muttered, shaking his head at Jiraiya. Jiraiya glared at Obito, but he didn't respond, choosing not to get into an argument. He wasn't drunk enough and he didn't get paid enough to deal with grouchy time travelers. "What do you want from him?" 

"Summon a toad," Jiraiya finally said, finishing the request he'd started before Obito's interruption. Naruto pursed his lips, then he nodded. Jiraiya watched Naruto perform the summoning. When the smoke cleared, Gamakichi sat there. The toad looked up at Jiraiya first, then at Naruto. "So it's true," Jiraiya mumbled to himself.

"Yo," Gamakichi greeted them. The toad looked around, searching for a reason for the summoning. Not finding a reason, he turned to Naruto. "What kind of party is this?" Naruto bent down and collected Gamakichi from the ground and the toad seemed rather unhappy with the fact. "Who is this guy?"

"I'm Naruto. Long story short, I have a contract with the toads. We're going to be partners," Naruto grinned, getting a blank look from Gamakichi. "Well?" Gamakichi proceeded to smirk and Naruto gave him a little shake. "What's so funny about that?"

"Hey! Be careful with the merchandise," Gamakichi responded. While the two launched into a back-and-forth, Jiraiya turned away from them to hold a conversation with Obito. Obito motioned for Jiraiya to follow him, so the two moved further away from the comedic duo.

"I'm going to assume you won't answer the question about how you got here," Jiraiya began. When he didn't get a response, he ran a hand down his face, trying to gather himself. Obito had expected Naruto to handle things, but one quick look at the man showed Naruto was still arguing with the toad. "Alright. Why are you here?"

"We're hunting the Akatsuki, more specifically Zetsu. It most likely looks like a mixture of black and white with a venus flytrap appearance. It could just be black. It could just be white," Obito tried to explain, watching the way Jiraiya tensed. So the man knew about the Akatsuki. "The Akatsuki is worse than it appears. We've eliminated two of your former students, Konan and Nagato. Nagato was a major player."

"Nagato? Impossible. He couldn't be," Jiraiya frowned, shaking his head. "I don't have all of the members of the organization. I'm aware of Itachi, Kakuzu, Orochimaru, Sasori," Jiraiya began listing off, quickly coming to the conclusion that he needed more to offer, more names, more information. "It's a mercenary group. Villages hire outside forces for a variety of reasons. There's a rumor that it's more than a mercenary group, but there's no evidence for it."

Naruto finally stopped arguing with Gamakichi. The toad jumped up, hit his face, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Annoyed, Naruto scrubbed at his face with his hands and let out a string of curse words. Realizing that Jiraiya and Obito were watching him, he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. He and Gamakichi would work things out, just like they had before, but he realized that wasn't the topic of the conversation. Obito and Jiraiya looked far too serious. Naruto joined the two and listened to a quick recap of what had been said.

"They're going to start hunting biju soon. They have something in mind called the Moon's Eye Plan. It's this giant genjutsu. There's a war too. This organization needs stopped. We're hunting Zetsu right now," Naruto informed his godfather. Jiraiya nodded, then rubbed his chin. "You have to know something. You have a big spy ring. I know you do."

"I don't have anything on Zetsu. I can circulate the description and keep an eye out for any hits. I'm sorry, kid. Itachi was sighted fifteen hours ago outside of Iwagakure. He had a partner with him. Big, blue guy, maybe a swordsman of the mist," Jiraiya said, shrugging. Obito frowned, looking for a moment like he wanted to dismiss the information, but he decided against it. 

"He could be going after Deidara, right? We've got nothing on Zetsu right now. Maybe we should follow the lead. We might be able to stop them from recruiting him," Naruto said, words spoken quickly turning to thoughts shared. 

"It took a week to find Deidara. If the hunt just started, we could find him first. I know where he'll be," Obito spoke, going right along with Naruto's thought process. Naruto hesitated, torn between shifting the focus or blind searches. "We're out of options right now, Naruto. Why did you reach out to Jiraiya?"

"If anyone can find Zetsu, Pervy Sage can. What if we push Zetsu underground though? This is risky. I know. I usually risk everything. That's why I'm hesitating. What would you have done if someone really threatened your plans? You waited a long time to implement your plans," Naruto frowned, clearly confusing Jiraiya. Before Naruto could continue, Jiraiya turned the attention to Obito. 

"You're a part of this organization? What are you doing with this guy, Naruto?" Jiraiya looked as if he wanted to physically drag Naruto away from Obito. Naruto shifted on his feet, blue eyes darting to Obito for help. "Tell me the truth."

"I'm Uchiha Obito. I was in charge of the organization. Nagato worked for me," Obito admitted, saying the words as if they meant very little to him. Naruto stepped between Jiraiya and Obito, stopping Jiraiya before the man could explode on Obito. "It was a terrible decision on my part and I'm going to correct it."

"I can help you. I'll help you. You have my word. I don't trust this guy, Naruto. How can you trust him?" Jiraiya made a vague motion in Obito's direction and Naruto bit down on his lower lip. He trusted Obito. Obito had yet to let him down. "Naruto," Jiraiya frowned, trying to appeal to something in Naruto. 

"I trust him with my life, Pervy Sage. I know he won't let me down."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun facts! This chapter actually took the longest. I just had a lot of trouble with it. Also, people will learn that I will throw festivals in whenever I can because they're amazing. And flavored ice is actually really hard to find where I live, but I associate it with festivals and summer. :)


	6. Listen Closely

Naruto could have spent days, weeks, months, or years just talking to his godfather. He knew a lot about the man. Yet he also knew, deep down, that Jiraiya wasn't that man, not the man who had whisked him away, not the man who had gone toe-to-toe with Pain. Seeing him again, listening to him again, Naruto wanted to forget. He longed for the days he spent traveling the world. He remembered walking away from Konoha; he remembered how it felt to say goodbye to his apartment, to his friends, to places he frequented. He hadn't known a thing about what it meant to travel. They'd moved so often. He hadn't made any lasting friendships. But Jiraiya had made it bearable. Naruto wanted to be thirteen again. He wanted to travel back to that day. He wanted to feel that freedom again. He wanted that innocence, that naivety. He'd lived a long, hard life in nineteen years. He wanted to argue about the unfairness of it all, but he had no one to talk to about that feeling. He knew Obito would call the thoughts and feelings childish, and Naruto wasn't a child. With no other options, with a long road ahead of him, Naruto bid Jiraiya goodbye and watched the man walk out of his life again. 

As usual, Obito wanted to use kamui to travel, but he and Naruto knew nothing about the cost of using it so often. Obito had spent years using the mangekyou sharingan, but he hadn't gone blind. Naruto worried about the bleeding and the headaches. The last time they'd used kamui to travel longer distances, Obito had a headache that lasted for hours. And then there was the fact that Obito had a theory based around kamui. He believed that he and Tobi both had access to the same pocket dimension, so that limited their time and usage. So far, they hadn't encountered Tobi, and Obito wanted to make sure that didn't happen. Naruto still believed that he could save Tobi, but he didn't press the issue. 

"Maybe we can convince Deidara to join our side," Naruto said, believing wholeheartedly that he could talk the bomber down. He reminded himself that the Akatsuki would never get their hands on Gaara, that the Deidara they hunted had yet to touch his friend. Some part of him, some wretched, ugly part of him, encouraged him to simply kill Deidara.

"I highly doubt he's going to want to listen to your therapy jutsu. There's a reason he's a missing nin," Obito replied, taking some more time to consider the suggestion. He frowned, then he shrugged, two responses Naruto didn't quite understand. "I spent a lot of time with him and he's not what you'd expect. He worked well in the organization and he wasn't heartless. He just had a quick temper and an obsession with his art and explosions."

"It's not a jutsu! Look, I can't tell if you're for the idea or against the idea. What did he do before the Akatsuki?"

"What do you think he did?"

"You don't have to be grouchy about it."

Naruto frowned and slowed his pace, allowing Obito to lead the way through the countryside. They had daylight on their side, so they had plenty of time to make it through the Land of Fire and into Grass country. Naruto stretched his arms above his head, fingers reaching for the blue sky. Grass promised drier days and deep bamboo forests. Obito had mentioned a forest so thick that it was easy to forget a world existed beyond the high stalks. Naruto wanted to see the bamboo. He wanted to get lost for a little while. But Obito didn't want anything to do with Grass. He still had an aversion to the place. He never really got over the Kannabi Bridge mission, and then there was the fact that they'd almost been crushed in River. It was another thing they didn't talk about, another thing Naruto wanted to address.

For the first three hours, neither man broke the silence. Naruto had questions circling around in his mind, while Obito appeared haunted by memories. Naruto had resumed walking beside the man, but he could have been days behind and Obito wouldn't have noticed. 

"Why do you always act so brave? You just keep everything bottled up, and then we never talk about it. It drives me nuts sometimes," Naruto huffed, shaking his head at the words. Obito glanced over at him. "You have to feel something about this. We aren't going over the bridge, but we're going to be close. So are you alright?"

"You're always interested in how I'm feeling. Are you sure you aren't a therapist?"

"Real funny, asshole. I'm being serious."

"I'm fine, Naruto. It happened a long time ago. I made peace with it."

Naruto wrinkled his nose, lips twisting to show his displeasure. Obito hadn't looked at him again, which meant he was lying. Obito had tiny signs, when he lied to Naruto. He couldn't maintain eye contact. Halfway through a lie, Obito often sighed or closed his eyes. Naruto knew him well enough. Naruto knew that. Sometimes, he had to drag the truth out of Obito; sometimes he had to use the infamous _therapy no jutsu_ to get something out of Obito. Naruto really needed someone to return the favor, but Obito wasn't that kind of person, not anymore. Kakashi once said that Naruto and Obito were like two peas in a pod, that they were cut from the same mold. Naruto really had to squint to see it. Sometimes they felt like polar opposites. Sometimes they felt like strangers.

Naruto surrendered to the silence for fifteen minutes, and he spent those fifteen minutes going through numerous scenarios. He meant to pester Obito, to stoop to almost childish levels to pry information from the man. He knew Obito would fight back. Obito knew how to deflect. Obito knew how to hide behind lies. And when he couldn't deflect or he couldn't lie, Obito went on the offense. They usually resorted to physical violence, and Naruto had accepted that they could end up in a physical altercation over revealing how Obito felt about something that had happened in the man's teenage years. The past had so much power over them. 

"Look at me and tell me you're fine," Naruto requested, words spoken so late that Obito could only grumble. "Well? Go ahead. Tell me you're fine and I'll leave you alone. We can talk about the weather, for all I care." Naruto made a sweeping motion at a grouping of white, puffy clouds overhead. 

"I'm fine," Obito insisted, eyes straying from Naruto's face. He hadn't been able to maintain eye contact. Obito had once said that he loved Naruto's eyes, that they saw the heart of everything. Naruto had ruined the moment by pointing out the fact that his dad had blue eyes too. In hindsight, Naruto saw the problem. "Am I your pet project right now? Save some of your energy for Deidara."

"I know what you're doing and it isn't going to work. You aren't fine. Tell me why you aren't fine. You've got me. You aren't alone. Madara is dead," Naruto reassured Obito. Naruto walked a little faster, putting himself a few steps ahead, just so he could read any expressions on Obito's face. "No war. No Iwagakure shinobi," Naruto added. 

"Now I see why Sasuke called you annoying multiple times a day," Obito said. He rolled his eyes and continued right past the shocked teen. "Stop playing around and let's go."

"I'm not annoying! I know why you aren't fine. You're scared. I bet you're thinking about being stuck in that damn cave. Madara saved you, right? He did weird stuff to you," Naruto spoke, interrupted by a soft snort. He moved to block Obito's path. 

"You make it sound like he molested me." Obito put a hand over Naruto's face and shoved him out of the way, then he continued walking again. "I saved you from a cave in. Be glad you don't know what it feels like."

"Maybe it's Kakashi then. You saved his life. You're thinking about him. Konoha isn't that far. We can kidnap him, if you want," Naruto said, getting a blank look from Obito. "I'm kidding about the kidnapping! Or am I?" Naruto grinned and Obito came to a grinding halt. The grin fell away the moment Obito's expression changed. "Obito?"

"I'm beginning to think having you here isn't a good thing."

"Excuse me for trying to get you to communicate with me. I should have known better, right? You're so bad at this you won't even face me when we're going to sleep. You're a bastard." Naruto picked up the pace and let Obito stare at his back, for a change. He went as far as he could without completely losing Obito, and then he relaxed his rigid posture and allowed his shoulders to slump. 

He took a chance, and his persistence had backfired. He'd expected a physical altercation, not harsh words, and that was his mistake. The topic of Kakashi was uneven ground. He never knew how Obito would react. Naruto had picked out things that would have bothered him, had he gone through Kannabi, and something must have really hit home. Time didn't heal all wounds, and Naruto had been caught picking at the scabs. Unknowingly, he put too much distance between Obito and himself. Arms loosely held behind his head, he lost himself in thought, a never-ending cycle of Obito's words. Sasuke had been just as harsh, sometimes harsher, but Naruto had grown accustomed to Sasuke's prickly behavior. Obito surprised him, each and every time.

He felt a flicker of chakra, then several more, each spark getting closer and closer. Naruto slowed to a stop, then he pivoted, turning back to stare down the road. He'd lost sight of Obito. When he felt the chakra appear again, he didn't react fast enough. He took a hit to the gut that had him doubling over, dry heaving, then another hit clipped his jaw. He stared up at the familiar orange spiral and he knew that he'd made a mistake. He jumped back, drawing a kunai in one smooth motion, and the two stared at one another, each one waiting for further movement. That wasn't his Obito. That Obito knew nothing about him. Naruto repeated the words over and over, lips twitching to follow along with the thoughts.

"Are you afraid of Tobi?" Tobi tilted his head to the side and lifted his hands up, palms facing out. He chuckled then, the sound of his voice almost grating. Naruto hated that persona. "Tobi only has a few questions!" Tobi took a seat on the ground, legs crisscrossing. Naruto didn't loosen the death grip he had on the kunai. "Oh! What if he's coming? I better make this fast! We don't want interrupted!"

Naruto opened his mouth to shout for Obito, but Tobi disappeared and reappeared, slapping a palm over Naruto's mouth. The other hand went to pry the kunai from Naruto's hand. Naruto retaliated by kicking Tobi, but the attack missed. Tobi finally got the kunai and he took a step back, allowing himself a moment to twirl the kunai. 

"Tobi has a name. Do you have a name, shinobi-san?"

"Yeah. It's none of your business," Naruto frowned, eyes moving between the curve of the path and Tobi. Tobi laughed at the joke, but Naruto knew there wasn't anything even remotely funny about the situation. "Why aren't you killing me?"

"Good question! Maybe I should," Tobi said, tapping his chin in thought. He sat down again and adopted a pose for meditation. "I should meditate on that," he joked, humming. Naruto took a step back, so Tobi perked up. When Naruto stepped back again, Tobi jumped up. "Where are you going?"

"I really need to get somewhere."

"Oh? We're both in a hurry!" Tobi grabbed Naruto's right hand and started pulling him along. The two were walking away from Obito, so Naruto planted his feet and jerked his hand away from Tobi. "I thought we were going in the same direction. Maybe you'd rather go back to Amegakure?" Naruto tensed and Tobi closed the distance between them. Tobi took hold of Naruto's chin and dragged him in. "You seem stressed. I give good massages!"

"I don't want a damn massage, you creep!" Naruto shoved Tobi away and Tobi pretended to stumble backwards. Tobi put a hand over his heart and seemed to pout. "Where's my friend?"

"Tobi is _not_ a creep. You're pretty mean, shinobi-san," Tobi replied, shrugging his shoulders. "It's a little strange running into someone you know," Tobi said, head tipped to the side again. Naruto pressed his lips together, refusing to rise to the bait. "I'm sure we'll get to talk more next time, Menma!" And Tobi was gone, disappearing into kamui. 

Naruto took off down the path, frantically searching for any sign of Obito. He found the man partially submerged in a stream, upper half lost in the waters. Naruto gripped the back of Obito's shirt and dragged the man out of the stream. He dropped Obito onto the grass and the man rolled over and started coughing up water and blood. When Naruto felt the familiar flicker of chakra, Naruto summoned two shadow clones. The clones helped Obito up and then they started moving again, at an almost grueling pace. Naruto didn't get to check for injuries. He knew it wasn't safe; he knew they couldn't afford to stop. They were still within the Land of Fire. That should have provided more security. Naruto went over Tobi's words, trying to find something more in them. Tobi knew about them, obviously, and Tobi had likely confronted Nagato and Konan. Naruto had to assume they were both dead. 

It took an hour for Obito to finally come around enough to walk on his own. By that point, Naruto had stopped sensing the constant flickering of chakra coming from within the trees. Tobi had stopped following them, but the escape had actually cost them some time. Naruto had changed direction, taking them east, as if they were heading back to Amegakure rather than to Iwagakure. Naruto took one look at Obito's slow movements and stopped walking. He looked up toward the evening sky, the sun barely below the horizon, then he placed a hand on Obito's shoulder. His two clones disappeared in puffs of white smoke, leaving them alone.

"What happened?"

"He poisoned me."

"We need to keep going then. Maybe we could," Naruto thought aloud, racking his brain, "we could head to Sunagakure and Gaara could help us." Naruto stopped, the words dying on his lips. Gaara wasn't Kazekage. Gaara was twelve. Obito rested a hand atop Naruto's right shoulder and squeezed. They'd traveled through time. Their friends and comrades were dead. "I'll get you help, even if I have to fight and conquer that damn village myself."

"It'll cost us more time, and we don't have it. The worst is over. I'm sure by the end of this trip, I'll have bled out the rest." Obito left Naruto wondering. How did the cells work? How did the healing work? Obito seemed adamant about continuing. Naruto didn't know how he felt about that. Naruto threw his arms around Obito, drawing the man into a tight hug. He didn't know what to say, so he said everything he needed with the hug. "You're making it even harder to breathe," Obito said, words a warm breath against Naruto's ear. 

"I'm not ready for you to die yet, so keep being a stubborn bastard."

Naruto held on for too long, their bodies pressed tightly together, Naruto's arms aching from the pressure behind the hug. If it weren't for Obito whispering his name and lightly patting his back, Naruto might have held on for hours. They made camp for the night, even though Obito wanted to continue. Naruto was the one to break out their sleeping bags. He had the most important camping equipment sealed, namely the sleeping bags and the tent. It was a little warm for a tent, so he passed over that option. While Obito complained about being able to handle making camp, Naruto did everything on his own, right down to catching dinner. 

"I think Nagato and Konan are dead," Naruto said, picking at the remains of his trout. Obito stilled, looking up from the fire to stare at Naruto. "Tobi called me Menma. He got the name from them. It'd make sense. He has no use for them." Naruto hated saying those words, but it was the truth. Without the rinnegan, Nagato was useless. Konan had nothing to offer. Obito nodded, as if in agreement. 

"I know you had hoped to save them. I'm sorry, Naruto," Obito finally spoke, the words quiet. Naruto left his side of the fire, dragging his sleeping bag along with him. He set up next to Obito, as he'd wanted to do from the start. "Have you considered the possibility that we won't be able to save Deidara?"

"With how things are looking? Yeah. I don't know why I thought it might be easy. Tobi must know we're going for him. He has to know."

"We'll push it tomorrow. We'll make it in time."

"Having a team wouldn't be a bad thing," Naruto said, drawing his knees up toward his chest. He rested his forearms atop his legs and stared at the fire. "I guess we have one anyway, since Pervy Sage is helping. I just feel like we've already lost, in some way."

"We can't save everyone. You aren't a superhero, Naruto," Obito mumbled, quiet words almost lost. Naruto smiled though; he smiled, even though he wanted to frown. Sometimes, he'd dreamt of being a superhero. "I'll take first watch," Obito informed him. 

"Nice try. I'm taking first watch. You get some sleep," Naruto said, reaching over to lightly shove Obito's shoulder. "If anything happens, I'll wake you," Naruto promised. 

Obito trusted him -- he knew that -- but the easy acceptance made Naruto feel a certain way. He felt lighter, as if his stomach were filled with nothing but butterflies, and that made him uneasy. He knew that feeling. He'd felt it a few times throughout his life. The first time he realized how he felt about Sakura. Fighting alongside Sasuke. Looking at Sasuke. Touching Sasuke. Naruto closed his eyes. They'd been friends. They'd been brothers, in combat. That left a terrible taste in Naruto's mouth. He'd once thought that if he repeated it enough, he'd believe it. When he'd spoken the words to Obito, he hadn't been completely honest, but he knew the man understood. Nothing had come of his feelings for Sasuke, nothing at all, and he regretted it every damn day of his life. If he were younger, if he were only younger. But that ship had sailed. All he had left in that chapter of his life was regret. 

Naruto spent the next hours listening to the sounds of the forest. The constant rustling kept him on edge. He entered into sage mode, at one point, so certain that Tobi had returned to finish the job. Naruto couldn't explain how he and Obito were still alive. He considered the possibility that Tobi really didn't know what to do with them. He didn't know all of the facts, and maybe he meant to learn, to allow them enough time to show their proverbial cards. With Tobi, nowhere was safe. And his last words were a promise. They would meet again, guaranteed. Luckily, Tobi still clung to his silly persona. The punches had been unexpected, but he shifted right into Tobi mode, as if nothing had happened. Kakashi had been the one to face the man, and that hadn't gone well. When Obito started tossing and turning, Naruto called Obito's name, knowing better than to touch him. The first time he'd tried shaking Obito, Obito had lashed out and tried to break Naruto's neck. That hadn't been pleasant. 

"Is it my turn?" Obito lay there, eyes still closed, posture still relaxed. Naruto crawled over to him and called his name again, knowing that the man had dozed off again. "I'm up," Obito promised, finally sitting up. Obito didn't bother fixing his hair, or the shirt that rode up on his stomach. He scratched his chest, then he scooted down the sleeping bag, moving closer to the dying fire. 

"Why do you think he let us live? We destroyed the rinnegan," Naruto frowned, slowly slipping into his sleeping bag. When Obito didn't respond, Naruto sighed. "Obito? Did you doze off sitting up? Oi, Uchiha," Naruto said, moments from shoving a foot into Obito's back. 

"I didn't destroy the rinnegan."

"What did you say?"

"I said I didn't destroy the rinnegan."

"What the hell did you do, Obito?" Naruto thought back to that moment in Amegakure. He had seen the kunai. But Obito's back had been to him. Obito had cut the eyes from Nagato's head. He had! Naruto hadn't had a clear view though -- his eyes had been closed. "What did you do with the eyes, Obito?"

"I hid them. While you were sleeping, I took care of it. Tobi won't find them," Obito said, as if that were enough, as if that would soothe the mounting anger and panic. Naruto shoved his sleeping bag aside and punched the center of Obito's back, but his shot missed. Obito glanced back at him, sharingan eye on display. 

"Destroy them. I'm telling you to destroy them. Do it."

"And if we need them?"

"This is exactly what you did with the sharingan, isn't it? You hoarded them, like they were some kind of rainy day fund, dattebayo!"

Naruto had trusted Obito. He had trusted the man with his life. Those eyes should have been destroyed. The rinnegan had brought nothing but trouble. Naruto punched Obito in the back again and the hit connected. Obito hissed in pain and rounded on Naruto, matching the punch. Naruto dodged and grabbed Obito around the waist, dragging the man across the sleeping bag and onto the hard ground. Obito swung around and the two started a quick scuffle, trading punches until Naruto threw dirt in Obito's face and punched him square in the gut. Obito fell back onto his back, so Naruto did the same. Their heavy breathing was the only sound, the quick rise and fall of their chests the only movement. Obito was the first to catch his breath, but he remained quiet. 

"I trusted you," Naruto spoke, the quiet words filled with hurt. His voice had cracked partway through, and he'd clenched his fists at his side. He waited for Obito to say something, anything, but silence greeted him. "If you don't destroy the eyes, I'm leaving. It's over."

"They're safe, Naruto. I'm not a moron. They aren't where Tobi can get them."

"Then you won't mind humoring me."

"I'm not destroying them." 

At Obito's response, Naruto laughed. He really couldn't help himself. It sounded wrong, coming from him, since there was nothing funny about Obito choosing the eyes over him. From the darkest part of himself, something whispered that he should have known better. Obito had changed, but not entirely, and he should have known better. For some reason, he thought of all their time together, every moment shared with the man. He recalled the butterflies, and he realized how his chest felt heavy, as if it were nothing but lead, the weight slowly crushing him. Naruto called on the bitterness he knew existed. He embraced the darkness, as Sasuke had once embraced the darkness. He'd made a statement, and he stood by his words. He'd told Jiraiya that he trusted Obito, and he couldn't help but feel as if he'd made a mistake. 

"Have fun saving the world on your own."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's a cliffhanger. Oops? So I set this up from the beginning. Why would you destroy the eyes? They could be useful! That's what hoarders say, btw. 
> 
> I might post another chapter today. I haven't decided.


	7. Paper Flowers

Naruto awoke to a deserted camp and the smoking remains of the fire. Obito had left him; the man hadn't even waited for Naruto to wake up before departing. Although Obito made the first move, the man had left the backpack with their supplies, as if that gesture were to repay Naruto for standing beside him for so long. Even though Naruto had the supplies, he quickly realized that Obito had taken the money, leaving Naruto with no funds. Naruto sat by the smoking fire for a few minutes, trying to collect himself, then he dug into his supplies and found a few granola bars, just something to have on his stomach. He hated to admit it, but he'd hoped Obito would call his bluff, or at least try to talk him down; instead, Obito had taken the initiative. Naruto thought back to their time in Amegakure, then his mind veered off course, taking him to the hot nights spent in Tanzaku-gai. Obito had left him. After everything they'd been through, Obito had left him. Naruto hadn't mattered enough. And it hurt, the sort of hurt Naruto felt in his very bones. Where he might have reached out for Kurama, he had no one.

Naruto eventually broke camp, but he had no idea where to begin with the journey. He knew Obito meant to stop Deidara from joining the Akatsuki, which meant Naruto was free to do what he pleased. There was a small part of him that told him to go back to Konoha. Obito wasn't there to stop him, to talk sense to him. He felt the urge to pursue Obito, to forgive and forget. But he'd taken a stand, he'd spoken the words, and he had no one to blame but himself. Tobi had mentioned Amegakure, so Naruto slipped the backpack on and headed toward Amegakure. He knew, deep down, that Nagato and Konan were gone, but the way Tobi mentioned Amegakure had Naruto's stomach tingling, a sign of his gut instincts. He knew better than to ignore the feeling. Shinobi put emphasis on gut feelings.

While Obito had continued northeast, Naruto had continued east, where he crossed the border into Rain. He thought he'd encounter some trouble along the way, but the journey was almost peaceful, allowing him way too much time to think. It was ridiculous to miss Obito, but Naruto knew all about missing someone. He'd missed Sasuke. He'd missed Sasuke so much that it had almost ruined him. What was it about Uchiha and being so damn stubborn? In the end, Sasuke had called him an idiot and told him to live, while Naruto had hoped for more. Obito hadn't said goodbye at all. Naruto only had the bitter taste of their final words and the lingering anger from his threat. He should have known better, but he'd always been a firecracker. Everyone who knew him knew about his quick temper. There was no point in wallowing in regret, but it was all about familiarity.

Near Amegakure, the first thing he noticed was the heavy rain. He saw the divide from where he stood and where the village began. Thick, grey clouds ruined the sky, dumping buckets of water onto the hidden village. The next thing Naruto noticed was the change in the buildings. Some of the tall buildings were missing, as if plucked from the land. As he approached the entrance to the village, he saw an increased shinobi presence. Two whole teams stood by the gate, turning some people away, allowing some people inside. Instead of hiding his features, Naruto approached the gate as himself. If Tobi meant to trap him, then he meant to trigger the trap. 

"Papers," the Ame shinobi requested, one hand held out. Naruto looked at the vertical lines on the hitai-ate, then he tried to judge the person's rank. "Well? Do you have papers or not?" The air of hospitality was gone, replaced by impatience and suspicion. "If you don't have papers, we aren't letting you into the village. Scram, kid."

"I'm not a kid, dattebayo!" Naruto jerked his arm away when the man tried to grab him. His response and his exclamation attracted unwanted attention. When two other shinobi advanced on them, Naruto frowned and scrambled to think of something to get him into the village. "I'm here about the Akatsuki."

"I don't know what you're talking about. We've never heard of that name." 

"Alright. You can let me in, or I can kick your ass. I don't have time for this."

"Big mistake."

The man pulled an umbrella from his back and opened it, throwing it up to trigger the poison senbon. Naruto drew a kunai and deflected as many as he could, knowing that he didn't have Kurama to help him, if he were poisoned. Everything seemed to remind him of Kurama. When two other shinobi joined in, one with a kusarigama, Naruto had to dodge the weight and chain attached to the weapon. He took a hit to the gut, but he grabbed the chain and tugged, dragging the person to him. He punched the guy in the face a few times before the guy could jump back. More and more shinobi arrived to fight him, so he evened the score by creating shadow clones. At one point, he had fifty fights going on around him. Someone hit him in the back of his head and he swayed on his feet, dodging another blow meant to kill him. He had clones readying nature chakra, but he didn't need them. A lone figure exited the village and walked right through the chaos, the Ame shinobi slowing at the sight of her. 

"Konan?" Naruto stopped in the middle of a swing, his fist frozen in the air. She dipped her head in greeting. "Tobi," he began, confusion written all over his face. Konan motioned him forward and he found himself walking forward. One by one, his clones popped, leaving him alone. "I thought you were dead," he spoke, his voice lowered. 

"I should be," Konan said, turning on her heel to lead him into the village. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at the shinobi, but they had separated, going right back to their duties, as if nothing had happened. "The first jinchuriki arrived at our hideout in northern Wind. Without the rinnegan, Nagato wasn't able to call the statue to store the biju. Naturally, Tobi investigated."

"Where's Nagato then?"

"He's no longer with us."

"'Us'?"

Konan nodded, then she led him into what appeared to be a gambling den. The interior of the building was dark, though there were card games going at every available table. The bartender perked up and bowed to Konan, then the others in the main room called out greetings, all of them surprisingly respectful. Naruto looked from face to face, finding that they regarded him with suspicion. He wasn't really surprised. When she'd realized he'd stopped, Konan took his arm and led him to a door near the back. The door didn't have any identifiers on it to show whether it was a restroom or a room for employees. Konan knocked twice, then she opened the door. The room had one light on overhead, much better lighting than the rest of the bar. The room wasn't large enough though. It was clear that the room was once a storage room, since the walls had shelving. He saw some bottles of alcohol and basic supplies, but his eyes quickly moved from the shelves to the other people in the room. 

"Kakuzu and Hidan?" Naruto eyed the two, shifting on his feet. He couldn't understand either man standing against Tobi. Kakuzu was a heartless man, more concerned with money than human lives; Hidan was batshit insane, obsessed with sacrificing people to Jashin. Naruto had expected Itachi, but he reminded himself that Itachi and Kisame had been sighted in the Land of Earth. "They aren't who I expected," Naruto frowned, the rest of his words lost. 

"So you know of us," Kakuzu commented. Hidan slapped another pair of cards down on their makeshift table. A wooden crate served as their table, two wooden chairs their seats. "Who did you expect?"

"Uh, I guess I don't know. The whole organization is full of bad guys," Naruto said, reaching up to rub the back of his head. He felt a bump forming on his skull from the hit he'd taken. Hidan snorted and leaned over to peer at Kakuzu's cards. When Kakuzu caught Hidan, he narrowed his eyes at Hidan until Hidan slowly pulled back.

"I didn't expect them either, to be honest," Konan admitted, a small smile forming, "but they decided to stay, and I'm grateful." 

"I only stayed because this prick begged me to," Hidan lied, jabbing a finger at Kakuzu. Kakuzu mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like _lying filth_, but no one called him on the words. "So what the fuck are we going to do now? You wanted to find this guy and he showed up on our doorstep."

"My friend is going after Deidara," Naruto informed them. Konan nodded, as if she'd expected the information. "We sort of had a falling out. I'm on my own, for right now," Naruto added, assuming it was important. 

There was a cot shoved against one wall, so Naruto went to sit down. Konan eventually followed him. The two sat there and watched the card game for a few minutes, all of them trying to make sense of the change in their circumstances. Naruto still couldn't believe Kakuzu and Hidan had followed Konan. That made no sense. The two seemed rather ordinary, both of them focused on the card game. For some reason, Naruto had assumed they were coldblooded killers, both of them lacking humanity. Seeing them playing cards left him feeling out of it. Konan turned to look at Naruto and Naruto noticed the paper flower in her hair. It was different, the color ivory, where it had once been light blue.

"Tobi knew my name, and I think he knew we were going to find Deidara. Did you tell him?" Naruto didn't want to point fingers, but Konan sighed. She shook her head. "Was it Nagato then?"

"I don't know what happened between the two of them. I arrived too late. I thought I killed Tobi. I took out the tower where you and I met, the surrounding area as well, but since he found you, I failed to kill him. He's very dangerous," Konan frowned, toying with her paper flower.

"Like that fucking idiot is dangerous. I don't see it," Hidan spoke, rolling his eyes. 

"That's because you're a moron. While you were cowering, I saw what he's capable of. He shouldn't have survived that attack," Kakuzu answered, laying his cards down on the table. He'd won the hand, so he collected the loose ryo from the center of the crate. "I assume you know something we don't," Kakuzu said, eyes focusing on Naruto. 

"He's from the Uchiha clan. I knew a couple of them. Apparently, you can sacrifice your sight to save yourself. I don't understand the mechanics, but I believe it," Naruto explained. "He likely had another sharingan. It's not the first time I've run across this. I just didn't expect him to pull that so soon."

"It's true. It's kinjutsu. I came across it during the war," Kakuzu spoke, not naming the exact war. Naruto knew Kakuzu was old, though he didn't have an exact age. The man basically made himself immortal, so age hardly mattered. "Stop looking so confused," Kakuzu scolded Hidan. 

"I'm not fucking confused! It doesn't matter. He'll still make a good sacrifice. Jashin-sama will be especially pleased," Hidan grinned, patting the scythe he had hanging off the back of his chair. Kakuzu sighed, showing his frustration. "I think we should wait for him to come to us. I'm tired of running across this damn continent."

Naruto listened to the discussion, taking a moment to consider their options. Naruto really hadn't expected Kakuzu and Hidan. The fact that they were willing to fight Tobi, which meant saving the world, which meant being _good guys_, left Naruto speechless. He knew that Hidan was a murderer; he remembered the loss of Asuma. He reminded himself that Hidan hadn't killed Asuma, that people could redeem themselves. He didn't trust them enough to tell them the truth about himself, but he knew he had to trust them, at least in part, to work with them. He remembered Obito, the fact that he'd trusted the man with his life. That had ended well. Beside him, Konan must have lost herself in thought, as she simply watched Kakuzu and Hidan go back and forth about what they should do.

"Why did you stay?" Naruto needed to know. From the silence that greeted him, he could tell that no one had asked that question. Hidan frowned, pausing the shuffling of the cards. Across from him, Kakuzu stared down at the money on his side of their makeshift table. 

"I've got nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. I stuck around the Akatsuki because I got to kill people whenever I wanted. More sacrifices mean a happier Jashin-sama," Hidan shrugged, continuing to shuffle the cards. "It's not like I can go back to Yugakure. They can kiss my ass. At least I know what this bastard is about," Hidan said, jerking his chin toward Kakuzu. Naruto saw something there. He'd once thought they barely tolerated one another, but he saw something underneath the words. He felt that Hidan actually trusted Kakuzu, maybe even that Hidan liked Kakuzu.

"I don't enjoy being lied to. I joined this organization because I know how to make money, and I enjoy making money. Money doesn't betray me. Money is a constant," Kakuzu said, moving some ryo around on the crate. He picked up a coin and seemed to admire it in the light. "Konan mentioned the Moon's Eye Plan. That wasn't what I signed up for. I've decided to repay Tobi for deceiving me." Kakuzu dropped the coin back into his pile. "Someone has to make sure this fool doesn't fall apart," Kakuzu commented, fixing a hard stare on Hidan.

"You're the one threatening to rip my arms and legs off!"

"If you're lucky, I might sew them back on."

Naruto looked over at Konan to find her smiling at the scene. He wondered if they'd saved her life, if Kakuzu had pieced her back together again. In his time, Konan had died, though much later, and under different circumstances. He toyed with the idea of sharing the truth about Nagato's rinnegan, but he decided against it. Later. There was always later. He didn't know where to begin, not with the three before him. Naruto ran his hands over his face and sighed into his palms. Konan set a hand on his shoulder and he took a moment before finally looking at her. They needed to save the jinchuriki. That was the priority. But they were already behind. He had to remind himself that Tobi needed the rinnegan. Naruto felt something like dread curl in the pit of his stomach. He'd let Obito walk right to the Akatsuki. He'd been stupid enough to let his temper win. 

"We need to find my friend. I think it's a trap. He has a rinnegan eye," Naruto blurted out. Kakuzu stopped the card game, while Hidan looked back and forth between Kakuzu and Naruto. "I'm such an idiot! Tobi needs the rinnegan and I let my friend walk right to him!"

"Why the hell would you do that?" Hidan didn't understand everything, but he understood the bad situation. Kakuzu scooted the chair back from the table, the wooden legs scraping against the concrete floor. "What are you doing? We're in the middle of the game, damn it!"

"Shut up. This is more important. Deidara was last located in the Land of Earth. By the time we get there, we'll be too late." Kakuzu looked to Konan, as she got to her feet next. "Can you manipulate paper wings for all of us?"

"All four of us? I could try," she thought aloud. After a moment she gave a firm nod. "I'll have to. Tobi can't get that eye. Menma," Konan began, cut off by the hand Naruto held up. She arched a brow at him, but he looked to Kakuzu and Hidan. "What is it?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Call me Naruto," Naruto smiled, giving her a thumbs up. "I thought I might as well be honest. My friend and I are trying to save the world. It's complicated, and there's more, but my name has to be enough for now."

"Naruto. Alright. I can get us there. If there are no objections, I'd like to leave right now," Konan said, waiting for someone to disagree. For some reason, everyone looked at Hidan. 

"What the fuck. Let's go. I'm ready," Hidan said, scooting his chair back from the table. Again, wood scraped against concrete. "Maybe we'll run into Itachi and Kisame. I've always wanted to fight a swordsman."

"You'd lose. Let's go," Kakuzu said, shoving Hidan's shoulder to get the man moving. 

Outside, Konan manipulated her paper, forming wings for all of them. She said it required a lot of concentration, and they wouldn't last long in a battle, but no one complained. They traveled faster in the air. People gathered in the streets to say goodbye to them, all of the people calling out for Konan's safe return. Naruto remembered the woman presenting him with paper flowers. She was something. Naruto found it easier to forgive and forget, even though he knew someone else in his shoes would have held grudges. The people around him had yet to hurt people he knew, people he cared about, and they were well on their way to atonement. As they flew over the landscape, leaving rain for clear skies, Naruto prayed they weren't too late. They couldn't afford to lose the eye. He couldn't afford to lose Obito.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could have given some warning, but nope! Fuck canon. Naruto walks off and comes back with a team of awesome people. So what does Obito come back with? Next chapter is Obito's POV.


	8. Change Your Ways

Naruto could have been enough -- he _should_ have been enough -- but Obito looked at him and saw his mistakes reflected back at him. As Obito sat by the fire, Naruto's soft snores punctuating the silence, he replayed those last words over and over again, Naruto's hurt voice echoing in his mind. And it shouldn't have been a surprise. Obito knew it was only a matter of time before he hurt Naruto. Maybe he thought he'd have more time. Maybe he thought he'd get away with the lie. Obito had hoped for forgiveness and understanding, but he'd already asked so much of Naruto. They were holding onto themselves with threads. Of course Naruto wanted him to destroy the eyes, but Obito couldn't. Something told him not to destroy the eyes. Naruto had called it hoarding, and maybe it was, maybe that was all Obito knew. But it had worked in the past. 

Naruto had overreacted -- Obito knew that -- but the thought of Naruto simply walking away was unsettling, to say the least. They were supposed to work together. Obito hadn't thought he'd survive the journey through time, but he had, they had. Naruto turned over in his sleeping bag, so Obito turned away from the fire to watch Naruto. The man mumbled in his sleep, holding whole conversations with someone in his dream. Obito hadn't seen Naruto so unguarded in a long time. He'd heard stories about the man fighting and shouting and snoring in his sleep, but Naruto had changed. Naruto rarely tossed and turned, and he never spoke. Obito had that time to watch him, to watch the way Naruto shifted around, wiggling like some kind of worm, and he couldn't keep the smile from his face. That was Naruto. That was the Naruto he knew. 

The choice shouldn't have been a choice at all. Naruto had wanted him to destroy the eyes, and he should have destroyed the eyes, but paranoia and anxiety had swallowed him alive. Years of being on his own told him to be prepared for anything, told him that there would come a time when he needed the rinnegan, more than the lone left eye. He had to be prepared. Naruto didn't understand that. Obito grabbed a long stick from beside the fire and prodded some of the burning wood. When flames licked at the stick, Obito fed it to the fire. Obito knew that he could say something to Naruto, but there was no way of getting around the issue. Naruto was stubborn; Obito was stubborn. Obito knew that he could use Naruto's feelings against him. He had experience doing it, so many years of experience. But the thought of doing that to Naruto made him sick. He knew he could have manipulated Naruto, because manipulating Naruto was easy. Naruto felt some kind of way about him, even if neither of them chose to acknowledge the feelings. Obito wasn't stupid. Naruto would eventually back down and submit, just as the man submitted to silence whenever Obito chose not to respond, whenever Obito chose to pretend to be asleep.

Obito wasn't that person anymore. He'd done the right thing. He'd changed. And yet he chose to make the same mistake again. When Naruto finally settled, Obito prepared to turn back to the fire, but he heard his name. Naruto repeated Obito's name a few times, every time igniting curiosity. Obito left his spot by the fire and took a seat next to Naruto's sleeping bag. As Naruto swatted blindly, Obito took his hand and held onto it. He wasn't the type to hold hands, but he always relented, whenever Naruto pouted at him. He knew he wasn't good for Naruto, that he wasn't what Naruto needed for a healthy, happy life, but he had always been selfish. At the end of the day, he needed Naruto more than Naruto needed him. He'd realized that before they'd traveled through time. He thought that if someone could save the day, Naruto could save the day. He'd been willing to throw his life away on the off chance that they'd succeed. He really believed in Naruto, despite things he'd said, despite things he hadn't said.

"Stay."

Naruto said the word so clearly that Obito waited for blue eyes to open, to acknowledge the fact that they were holding hands; instead, Naruto mumbled about Madara haunting them. Obito knew he was still asleep. Obito tangled their fingers together though, lightly squeezing Naruto's hand. He remembered Numachi and Kiso. He remembered the festival in Tanzaku-gai. Leaving was a lot harder than he thought. He didn't want to go. He acknowledged that he felt something for Naruto, and that cemented his decision to leave. He'd lost two people he'd loved with his entire being, and he didn't want to take that plunge again. He didn't think he could handle another loss. He told himself Naruto would be safer without him. He told himself he would right the wrongs.

In the end, leaving took a lot longer than he'd expected. He took the money they'd collected from bounties and left all of their belongings for Naruto. He had weapons, so he had everything he needed. He knew there was a chance that Naruto would follow him. Some small part of him wanted Naruto to find him, but he buried that wish underneath his own determination. He didn't want to go down that road again. 

He still had some time before sunrise, and he used the time wisely. He altered his route and took to the trees, intent on putting as much distance as possible between them. Obito didn't want to think about Naruto's expression when he realized he was alone. Naruto would likely blame himself. That would push Naruto forward or drag him down, all depending on Naruto's state of mind. Obito felt the distance between them, every footfall another stabbing pain in his chest. It was wrong, so very wrong. Naruto had called them partners, and that wasn't how you treated a partner. 

Without Naruto forcing him to take breaks, Obito continued well into the afternoon. And when he tired of running, he did exactly what he said he wouldn't. He used kamui. No one was there to warn him, to care about him, to scold him. He was reckless. With his approach, he made great time. He arrived at the location, but Deidara wasn't there. He searched the building; he searched the surrounding area. Deidara wasn't there. Frustrated, Obito tried to sense familiar chakra signatures. A faint spark attracted his attention, but it was quickly gone, only to reappear in a different location. It was Tobi. Anyone else might have missed the telltale sign of the man slipping into kamui, but not Obito. Closing his eyes, Obito tried to time the man. When he felt the chakra disappear, Obito disappeared into kamui. He grabbed Tobi's arm and dragged the man back from the entry into their world, but Tobi responded by elbowing Obito in the gut. Obito kicked Tobi's right leg and forced the man to one knee. Tobi threw himself forward, falling into a roll, then threw a kunai at Obito, which Obito deflected. 

"So you can come here too," Tobi thought aloud, head tilted as he surveyed Obito. "I didn't think the poison would kill you, but it would have been nice. Where's your little friend? I was hoping he and I could talk again."

"Not even going to pretend to be Tobi?"

"I think we're beyond that point now, don't you think? It's still strange, seeing myself." Tobi took a few steps forward, as if closing the distance would give him a better look at Obito. Obito tensed, one fist tight at his side, the other wrapped tightly around a kunai. "I'm going to assume this has something to do with the rinnegan. Am I right, _Obito_?" Tobi practically purred the name and the sound had Obito feeling ill. He'd forgotten how intimidating he could be when he put forth the effort

"Your name is Obito, Uchiha Obito," Obito began, earning laughter from Tobi. 

"Obito died at Kannabi. I think we both know that," Tobi answered. Obito frowned, thoughts flying through his mind. Tobi threw his hands up and Obito knew he had seconds before the man left their shared dimension.

"You loved Rin. You loved her with everything you had, and you were too late. I was too late," Obito spoke, forcing the words out, knowing they both needed to hear them. Tobi lowered his hands and stared across the distance between them. "That's not where it stops and you know it. How do you think this is going to end? Do you think the entire shinobi world is going to let you cast a genjutsu over the world? Do you have any idea how many men, women, and children are going to die for your insane grab at false peace? _Children_, just like you, just like Rin, just like Kakashi. Is that what you want?" Obito was shouting by the end, and his voice echoed around them. "Say something!"

"What happened to you?" Again, Tobi tilted his head to the side. He didn't understand. Obito sensed the confusion and disbelief. Obito threw the kunai at Tobi and Tobi sidestepped and caught the weapon, plucking it right out of the air. He'd always been sharp. All of his years had been spent training. "You're nothing like me. You gave up. You gave up on your dream."

"You're making a mistake and it took me too long to figure that out. I know you watch him. You've never been able to let go," Obito began, cut off when Tobi came at him. They dissolved into taijutsu, both of trying to cripple the other, both of them trying to be heard. "This isn't how you deal with death!"

"And you know how to deal with death? Look at you. You're old. You're alone. You're miserable."

"What does that tell you? What does it tell you? Tell me!"

Obito tackled Tobi and they both fell right out of the pocket dimension. Tobi jerked away from Obito, but they both ended up rolling along the ground until they recovered and got back to their feet. Tobi still had the kunai and Obito drew another. They flew at one another, matching blow for blow. Obito knew himself; Tobi knew himself. Every weak point was capitalized on. Every attack was met by a counterattack. They knew the limit of their technique, and they exploited that weakness. Tobi slashed Obito across the chest and Obito kicked Tobi aside, driving them both apart. Obito pressed a hand over the injury, but Tobi engaged again. 

"Rin is dead! Nothing you say or do is going to bring her back! You'll only be making things worse! Kakashi turned his life around. You can too!"

"Kakashi? You think _Kakashi_ has turned his life around?" Obito took another hit, that time a fist to the jaw. Obito pulled back before Tobi could lash out for a follow-up blow. "What about the future? What about the Moon's Eye Plan?"

"That's not a future! Do you even know what that plan is for? You're being used! Madara was deceived. You're being deceived!" Obito punctuated the exclamation by stabbing Tobi in the chest. Tobi froze, then he ripped the kunai from his chest and threw it aside. The ground below them seemed to waver, then Zetsu emerged. Obito switched targets and lashed out at Zetsu, but Tobi blocked him. "When are you going to tell him about the truth behind the Moon's Eye Plan? When you've used him up?"

"We've located Deidara."

Tobi and Zetsu disappeared, one going into kamui and the other into the ground. Obito felt for the familiar spark of chakra, then he gave chase. The hunt took him closer to Deidara, then a large explosion rocked the earth. The roof of the large temple was blown off, half of the building crumbling. Deidara emerged from the building on a large white bird, shouting words Obito couldn't make out from the ground. Tobi shouldn't have been there. Zetsu shouldn't have been there. Obito saw Itachi and Kisame emerge from within the building. Itachi should have handled Deidara with no problem. Things had changed. How many things had changed? That wasn't good. Deidara sent spiders crawling at the Akatsuki members, all of them suddenly engaged in a fight. Whenever Tobi reappeared, Obito engaged with him. Their fight reminded Obito so much of his fight with Kakashi; Obito fought to cripple, not to kill, even though every attempt was an attempt on his life. 

Seeing Deidara lower the bird to the ground, Obito sent a great fireball at the assembled Akatsuki. With their attention shifting from Deidara to Obito, Tobi left for good, Zetsu disappearing along with him. Itachi stepped forward, dark eyes turning red, and Obito took a moment to consider his options. Itachi had yet to attack him, seeming to exchange a few words with Kisame and Sasori. Obito reached up to brush his fingers over the patch on his left eye. Sasuke had given him that eye, as if Obito had wanted it then. At the time, he'd refused the gift, as Sasuke hadn't been the type to give gifts. But Sasuke had told him it was for Naruto, not for him, and Sasuke had looked at him, really looked at him, and told him to look after Naruto, as if Obito would be able to fulfill such a promise. He knew how Naruto felt about the rinnegan. They'd never talked about it, but every time Obito exposed the rinnegan, Sasuke's rinnegan, Naruto would get a faraway look in his eyes.

Obito lifted the patch over his eye and altered the field, easily switching places with Kisame. When he went to hit Itachi, Itachi moved his head and the blow missed. When Obito shifted places again, he brought Deidara to himself, then he dragged the man into kamui. The last thing Obito saw was Itachi's blank expression. Naruto would have tried to save Itachi, as if the man needed a savior, as if the man wanted a savior. Obito wasn't Naruto. He traveled right through kamui and they ended up in the middle of a marshland. Deidara picked his feet up a few times, his nose wrinkled in disgust. They both had murky water in their sandals and up to their ankles. They weren't in the Land of Water, Obito knew that much, but there was a large lake. Deidara yanked his arms away from Obito and looked down at the water, expression still sour. 

"I didn't have to save you," Obito muttered. He started making his way through the tall weeds, moving them aside as he went. After a moment's hesitation, Deidara followed. 

"You didn't have to 'save' me, hm. I was doing just fine on my own. Did you see that explosion?" Deidara grinned, both hands on his hips. Obito took one look at him and sighed. The Deidara he knew had matured a little by the time they were made partners. Greeted with silence, Deidara proceeded to create a butterfly, which he allowed to hover over his right palm. "Why did you help me? Do you need help with a job?"

"Sort of," Obito replied. He stepped onto the grass and wasted no time removing his soaked sandals. He sat down and picked the weeds off his feet, so Deidara did the same. "What do you know about the Akatsuki?"

"They're mercenaries, hm! It's made up of missing nin from various villages. That must have been them," Deidara said, drawing his knees up toward his chest. He looked at the mouth on his right palm, then he showed the tongue to Obito. "I'm not interested in joining them. They didn't appreciate my art. True art is an explosion, hm!"

"They're going to keep coming after you."

"I know. I've escaped three times already. It's always the one with the red eyes. I hate those eyes! He almost had me today, hm," Deidara frowned, eyes narrowed at the lake. "Do you know who he is?"

"I do, but I don't think he wants to be in that group any more than you do," Obito said, shrugging a shoulder. He examined the wound on his chest, but nothing remained by smudges of dried blood. Deidara pushed off the ground and got to his feet, curling his toes in the grass. "What are you going to do now?"

"I have a job in the Land of Wind. I thought I'd be able to lose these guys by attracting attention from Iwagakure."

"Smart, if the two forces would have met."

"I thought so. So that's it then? You rescued me and you don't want anything in return? I might be young, but I wasn't born yesterday, hm. What do you want?"

Obito looked up at the man, one hand raised to block the glare from the setting sun. Deidara moved his head so he blocked the sun, then motioned for Obito to answer. Naruto would have known what to say to Deidara; Naruto would have been the hero Deidara needed. In the end, Deidara had no reason to go with Obito, and Obito really needed a solid plan. There were other members of the group that he had to deal with. Zetsu had presented himself, but Obito had been distracted with Tobi. Obito closed his eyes, focusing on the headache acting like a steady beat by his right temple. 

"Why don't you come with me?" Deidara ruffled Obito's hair and Obito waved a hand, failing to slap Deidara's hand away. "I'll split the earnings with you, seventy-thirty, my way, hm."

"I need to destroy the Akatsuki. I can't afford to go play in the desert with you," Obito frowned. For a moment, he saw Naruto's smile on Deidara's face, but the angle of the sun and the blonde hair had played tricks on him. 

"If I helped destroy the Akatsuki, then they wouldn't bother me anymore," Deidara mumbled, fixing his hair. He nodded to himself, then he smirked. "Let's say I help you. You'd make sure they didn't bother me anymore? No tricks, hm?"

"I shouldn't make an agreement with a terrorist," Obito replied, eyeing Deidara. For some reason, Obito wondered if Naruto would approve; then again, Naruto wasn't there. Obito had left Naruto. Obito finally tugged the patch down over his closed left eye.

"I'm not a terrorist. My attacks have no political aim. I consider myself an artist, but you can also call me an entrepreneur," Deidara smirked. Deidara finally triggered the butterfly that flew around them and it exploded, causing Obito to flinch. The nails on his fingers bit into the palms of his hand. "Hey, it's just art, hm. See?" Deidara waved his hands, showing that they were still fine, that nothing had been destroyed.

"You said you had a job in Wind?"

"Yeah, but we're taking down the Akatsuki now."

"You can do that job and we can make a stop in Sunagakure. There's someone I need to see."

It had been far too long since he'd seen Gaara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post this too. There will be at least one more chapter from Obito's POV. No, I don't intend to have Obito and Naruto separated for a long time. I get impatient when I'm writing. I'd never survive that. :)


	9. Itachi

Naruto watched the paper wings as they moved, each individual piece of paper joined to another by nothing but chakra and willpower. One mistake and they would plummet to the ground, just as Naruto had plummeted to the ground upon his entrance to the past. Konan led the way, Naruto and Kakuzu to her sides, Hidan near Kakuzu. Time slowly ticked by, seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, until they crossed into the Land of Earth. Konan had a general direction, but Naruto easily tapped into sage mode and extended his senses, feeling for familiar chakra. It took them too long to find any sign that Obito had been there, that Deidara had been there, but Konan eventually pointed to the destroyed temple. The roof was missing and sides of the building had crumbled away. A large explosion had made the area into a ghost town. But not everyone had fled. Naruto felt the chakra signature of someone he hadn't seen for a very long time. When Naruto pointed to the gathered Akatsuki members, Konan hesitated, then she nodded. They began a slow descent, the paper wings slowly falling apart along the way. By the time they touched down, the wings were gone, just harmless pieces of paper that fluttered in the breeze. Naruto knew Konan could make every piece of paper into a deadly weapon though, and that was why the Akatsuki members watched the stray paper. 

"Where's Deidara?" Naruto took several steps forward, putting himself in front of his group. Hidan had a hold on his scythe, while Kakuzu regarded the loyal Akatsuki members with narrowed eyes. Only Konan seemed indifferent, and Naruto knew better than to assume. 

"The fool that escaped," Sasori noted, still hidden away in his puppet. Naruto heard the words and relief washed over him. He'd missed Obito, but Obito had gotten away. "We don't have time for this," Sasori went on to say, already restless and irritable. 

"We could make time for it," Kisame replied, eyeing Kakuzu. Hidan, seeing the focus on Kakuzu, opened his mouth to shout at Kisame. 

"Hey, stop staring at him. I'm going to be kicking your ass today," Hidan grinned, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes. 

"Naruto, what do you have in mind?" Konan kept her voice low. When Naruto didn't immediately answer, she followed his line of sight to Itachi. "I see. Allow us to serve as a distraction. I'll take Sasori. I think a rematch is in order," Konan said, glancing at Kakuzu. The man nodded, then the papers gathered around Konan to form wings. "We're buying him time, but if you have an opening, kill them."

Naruto watched as the three went forward to engage Sasori and Kisame, then his attention shifted to Itachi. The two stared at one another, onyx meeting bright blue in a silent bid for dominance. Naruto waited for Itachi to activate the sharingan, but the man was slow to make a move. Naruto took the initiative and darted forward. Itachi blocked his punch, followed by the next right hook, and he actually backhanded Naruto. Naruto pulled back and summoned clones, five of them splitting up to surround Itachi. One of the clones caught the moment when Itachi's eyes turned red and shouted to Naruto, so Naruto traded places with a clone, sacrificing it. The clone burst into black flames and turned to smoke. The rest of the clones were dispatched by lightning quick strikes to the throat. Around him, Konan had completely shredded Sasori's cloak, leaving the puppet exposed, while Hidan was taking every opportunity to hack at Kisame. The two Akatsuki members were engrossed in their fights, leaving Naruto to draw Itachi forward.

"I think it's time you went home, Itachi. I'm going to give you a chance to come willingly, then I'm dragging you back. You've got Sasuke and we've got Danzo to deal with."

"Konoha holds nothing for me."

"That's where you're dead wrong! You have a little brother to save, and you have to expose the truth behind that night, the night of the Uchiha downfall."

"There is no truth to expose, and my foolish little brother needs no saving. He's weak and of no interest to me," Itachi replied, the air of indifference irritating Naruto. Temper flaring, Naruto momentarily forgot he no longer had Kurama. He had only remnants to call upon, so he did. The remaining pool of dark chakra returned around him, kicking up dust and dirt. "Konoha didn't send you. You must be associated with the rinnegan user," Itachi observed. The dark chakra seemed to stop the other Akatsuki members, though they didn't hear Itachi's quiet comments. 

"Yeah, I am. We're going to save the damn world. Now stop the charade and let's go. We don't have a lot of time. Orochimaru is going to target Sasuke!" Naruto swore he saw something in Itachi's eyes, but the change happened so quickly, too quickly. Naruto had to ask himself if he'd seen anything at all. "This isn't you! Stop trying to be a martyr, Itachi."

Kisame overpowered Hidan and one swift downward motion of the scythe cut off the man's dominant hand. A colorful string of curse words followed, so Kakuzu sighed and stepped in to take Hidan's place. Konan had lured Sasori out of his puppet and she cut down puppet after puppet, her attention clearly on getting to Sasori. Itachi caught Naruto's gaze and they were both falling. They landed in water, the dark, cold liquid up to their calves. It seemed as if the place had reverted to the scene from Naruto's first voyage to meet Kurama. True enough, the gate rose high, a single slip of paper holding them closed. At first, Naruto didn't understand, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder and his attention strayed from the bars to Itachi. Confusion in his blue eyes, Naruto met Itachi's gaze again. The red and black and white left him off balance, his whole world turned upside down. 

"Genjutsu."

"So it's the sharingan?" Itachi nodded, so Naruto sighed. He felt like falling apart. He ran a hand through his hair, remembering the haircut Obito had given him. That simple memory had him hovering on a complete breakdown, but he steeled himself. "Alright. My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm from the future. In my world, Tobi and Madara and a moon goddess destroyed the world. You've met my friend, Obito. That's Tobi. It's a long story, and I don't think we have time for the whole thing. In my future, you die, and I refuse to let that happen. Sasuke needs you. Konoha needs you. This world needs you."

"Time travel," Itachi mumbled, eyes straying from Naruto's face. He lowered his hand from Naruto's shoulder. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Konoha has nothing left for me. I made sure that Sasuke would be the one to end my life and avenge the clan. I live on borrowed time. If I'm honest, my health is deteriorating."

"Sasuke never stopped loving you. He's just stupid right now. He got over it before, and I'm positive he can get over it again. And I can help you! We can get Baa-chan to look at you. She's the best healer in the whole world," Naruto insisted, prepared to launch into a rambling plea meant to alter Itachi's outlook on the world. Itachi actually smiled at him though. 

"Your certainty and persistence is admirable, but I really have nothing left, Naruto. Your secret is safe with me. That's all I can do for you."

"Bullshit. Do you want Sasuke to betray Konoha and run off with Orochimaru? That's what happened in my time. He became a missing nin. He put power above everything else. He's miserable right now, and it took too many years for him to wake up and accept that he can actually live a decent life. I," Naruto hesitated, then he squared his shoulders and looked Itachi in the eyes, "I loved that stupid bastard and I'll be damned if I let you ruin this Sasuke's chance at a better life. So you can come with me willingly or I can take whatever is leftover when I'm done kicking your ass. Your choice."

Itachi blinked at him a few times, clearly startled by Naruto's admission. Naruto shifted on his feet, averting his eyes to avoid the emotion rising to the surface in Itachi's eyes. Itachi had looked like a zombie, face a perfect mask, but that had vanished. Itachi nodded, as if in agreement, as if he truly understood Naruto's threat. Naruto felt as if they had been there for a long time, as if hours had passed. He just wanted a moment to stop, to catch his breath, because he felt as if he were constantly in motion. He wanted Sasuke. He wanted Obito. Hell, he wanted his mom and dad. He felt Itachi poke the center of his forehead, so he crossed his eyes to try to see the man's fingers. Naruto waited for him to ask about Sasuke's future; he didn't want to say that Sasuke had died. But Itachi never asked. Itachi looked up at the bars, eyes on that single slip of paper. 

"Do you know why Sasuke is alive, Naruto?"

"Because you love him."

"I do. There were many things I was willing to do to ensure the village's safety, but killing Sasuke wasn't one of them. Konoha was the safest place for him. He needs to grow stronger. This world is not for the weak."

"Sasuke was _never_ weak!" Naruto prepared to lash out at Itachi, but Itachi simply poked his forehead again, as if disarming him. Naruto blinked once, then he frowned. "He isn't safe there. I know you think he is, but he's not. He's lonely and angry. His whole life is built around avenging his clan. And it's wrong. It's a mistake. What you did was wrong. There was another way -- there's always another way -- but it's too late. Face what you did. I promise you that everyone will know the truth. You aren't a bad guy. You've just done bad things."

"I'll find you again, Naruto."

Naruto awoke to a harsh slap. His head flew to the right and his cheek burned. Hidan looked down at him, a deep frown on his face. Hidan turned to say something, words Naruto couldn't make out. Hidan pulled back and Naruto realized that the fighting had stopped. Sasori, Kisame, and Itachi were gone. He sat up and put a hand to his throbbing head, massaging his scalp. He wondered how much of that genjutsu had been his mind simply playing tricks on him; he wondered how long he and Itachi had been there, how long he'd been lying on the ground. Konan put a hand on his shoulder and he tipped his head back to stare up at her. Overhead, the sky was dark. Sunset had gone, leaving nothing but stars and a sliver of a moon. Somewhere, Obito saw the same thing.

"How long was I out?" Naruto hated how gravelly his voice sounded. He longed for a drink of cold water and a long nap, but he forced himself to his feet. 

"Three hours. We changed locations twice," Kakuzu responded. Kakuzu threw the backpack Naruto had been wearing at him and Naruto barely caught it. It slammed into his chest and nearly knocked the wind out of him. "As you can see, they got away." Kakuzu didn't sound happy about that. "I've fixed Hidan's arm. He'll need time to recuperate."

"I said I'm fine. It hasn't come off yet," Hidan cut in, flexing his hand. Naruto knew that Hidan had threads beneath the black cloak, the injury hidden away. "That was a shit plan. If you can't stand up to that guy, how do you plan to stop that shithead Tobi?"

"So now you believe he's a threat?" Kakuzu had to make that comment and drag Hidan into a one-sided argument, while Konan drew Naruto aside. 

"We've changed locations twice and this crow has been following us. What did Itachi say to you?" Konan nodded her head toward a tall tree. A crow was perched on one of the branches, picking at its feathers. When the bird noticed them staring, it called out, alerting them. Hidan stopped talking and everyone stared at the bird. "Should we be concerned?"

"Nah. I'm not sure why he decided to leave. I was so sure I had him. I guess I just need to have another talk with him. We missed Deidara and Obito and I failed to get Itachi. I'm running out of ideas now," Naruto admitted, gaze shifting from the bird to Konan's face. She'd always been a relatively quiet girl, when it came to her time in the Akatsuki, but she wasn't stupid. She knew how to be a leader. "I don't have time to keep chasing after Obito," Naruto sighed. "Any ideas?"

"We've discussed a few options," Konan admitted, looking over at Kakuzu and Hidan. "Right now, your friend has the rinnegan Tobi needs, but he hasn't stopped hunting the biju. There are seven biju remaining. We can collect the jinchuriki."

"That's great, but we can't just kidnap people," Naruto frowned. Naruto held up his hands to stop any disagreements. He thought back to his own story, to the loss of Kurama. "What if we relocated them and made Konoha our base? Just until we defeat Tobi."

"I think this is something that usually involves the Hokage, but it has been a few years since I've lived within a hidden village," Kakuzu said, voice dry. Hidan laughed and Konan gave the man a withering look. "I don't trust the politics of hidden villages. I left mine and never looked back," Kakuzu added. "This could be lucrative for Konoha. Every jinchuriki is essentially a weapon. They would grow in military strength. At the cost of relations with other villages."

"I think you should speak to the Hokage," Konan spoke, words connecting well with Kakuzu's. Hidan remained unusually quiet. "Would you stop pouting, Hidan."

"How's this any different from when we were busting our asses for Pain?"

"Alright! I got it. Let's go to Konoha. I can talk to Jiji, and we can get leads on the jinchuriki by connecting with Pervy Sage. Once we do that, we can split up. You can start to track down the jinchuriki, and I'll find Obito. We'll finish up and focus on Tobi. It shouldn't take long," Naruto thought aloud, looking around at everyone for responses. Hidan looked irritated, and Naruto thought that Kakuzu seemed annoyed. They were missing nin though. He knew they wanted nothing to do with Konoha. 

"Jiji and Pervy Sage?" Konan arched a brow and Naruto laughed, expression sheepish. 

"Jiji is the Hokage and Pervy Sage is Jiraiya," Naruto explained. 

"It would be nice to see Jiraiya again," Konan said, eyes unfocused. Naruto knew she was reminiscing. "I see no problem with this. By relocating the jinchuriki to Konoha, we will be getting better security and by finding Obito, we'll make sure that Tobi doesn't obtain the rinnegan. I understand if you would rather part, and I'll hold no ill feelings for you," Konan explained, her attention shifting to Kakuzu and Hidan.

"Like you could do it all on your own," Hidan muttered, eyes turning skyward. "Well? Are you in?" Hidan glanced at Kakuzu, but Kakuzu didn't immediately answer. Naruto knew his hands were sweaty; he felt as if he were seconds from begging. Finally, Kakuzu nodded. 

"I won't answer to the Hokage, and I have no intention of settling in the village," Kakuzu informed them. Naruto nodded, as he hadn't expected those things of the man. "We're going to need funds. I would suggest bounty hunting for quick money. You can multitask."

"Of course you jump right to the money," Hidan snorted. "Let's get this shit moving. The thought of being in that village gives me hives," Hidan complained, turning to walk away. Kakuzu was only a few steps behind, giving Konan and Naruto a moment of privacy. 

Konan seemed to wait on Naruto, giving him time to make sense of his thoughts. He wondered if he could trust them with the jinchuuriki. He gave trust too freely, and the taste of betrayal was still fresh on his lips. He had very little left to lose. He only needed time to collect Obito, and then they could pick up right where they left off. If Obito wanted him. If Obito really cared at all. Those thoughts dragged him under. How easy had it been for Obito to walk away? Maybe it had needed to happen. Maybe they'd needed that fight, for some ridiculous reason Naruto had yet to understand. He said he'd need Obito, that he would need Obito, and those words were true.

"He's fine, Naruto. Are you sure you want to go after him on your own? It wouldn't cost us much time. It's just as important to secure the rinnegan as it is to secure the jinchuriki," Konan said, trying her best to approach the topic gently. Naruto closed his eyes, took a breath, and plastered a grin onto his face.

"Yeah. It's no problem, dattebayo!"

She saw right through him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say for this one! It took me a while to decide what would happen with Itachi. In the end, Itachi stayed with the Akatsuki.
> 
> Next chapter is up in the air. It could be Obito. It could be Naruto. If anyone has a preference, comment! :)


	10. What Could Have Been

A warm hand ran along the length of his spine, coaxing him from his slumber. Naruto kept his eyes closed, though he turned onto his side and curled into a ball. He wanted more sleep. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Instead, he felt the hand make another pass over his back. He wondered when Obito had grown so bold, but he craved sleep more than he craved answers. When he felt Obito sit down on the edge of the bed, Naruto stretched out and looped his arms around Obito's waist, content to wrap himself around the man. The waist was slim, body softer than he remembered. Frowning, Naruto leaned up to press a kiss to Obito's back, but hair tickled his nose. He froze, then he threw himself backwards. Legs tangled in the sheets, he fell over the side of the bed, a quick shout the warning he gave before he landed in a heap on the floor. He looked for a weapon, but he was naked. He found a book on the nightstand, so he grabbed the hardcover. Hinata leaned over the bed, a worried look on her face. Naruto threw the book at her and then reached down to cover himself. He heard the book connect with her skull, but he was too busy making a dash for the bedroom door. Genjutsu. Tobi. Naruto ran through numerous possibilities, but that was the only one that made any sense, although hell also seemed plausible.

Naruto tripped over toys and almost fell down the stairs, but he righted himself in time. A door down the hall opened and a tiny head poked out of the room. The kid looked like a miniature version of Naruto and Naruto felt his world collapse. Hinata had recovered from the hit and she stood in the hall, eyes moving between Naruto and the toddler. Naruto tightened the hold on the sheets covering him, then he turned and fled. He heard Hinata calling out his name, but he didn't stop. He threw open the door to the house and ran out, bypassing the sandals by the door. Something was wrong. Naruto stood out by the street and looked in both directions, trying to make sense of the world around him. People greeted him, as if he weren't playing modest with bed linen, so he managed a few grunts in reply. He had to find Obito. He had to find someone, anyone. He stumbled down the street, stray rocks digging into the bottoms of his feet. The village looked different. He got lost trying to find the Uchiha district, so he went for the Hokage's office. Naruto scaled the side of the building and poked his head in through one of the open windows. Seeing Kakashi, he threw himself inside and slammed the window closed. After a pause, he slammed every window closed. ANBU stood at the ready, but Kakashi motioned for them to go.

"You have the day off," Kakashi said, eyes on the sheets Naruto held around himself. He looked as if he were trying for a skirt. Embarrassed, Naruto looked away. "That is a very interesting choice in attire. I can tell you dressed yourself this morning," Kakashi smiled, both eyes crinkling near the corners. 

"Make fun of me later! What the hell is going on, Kakashi-sensei! You're dead! Hinata is dead! Where the hell is Obito? I want to see Obito!"

"Calm down. I'm not dead. Your wife is not dead. And why do you want to see my husband?"

"Your _what_? My _what_? I'd never marry her! What is wrong with this place! Look, just let me talk to Obito. I really need to talk to him."

Kakashi frowned, but he flared his chakra twice. An ANBU appeared at one of the closed windows and tried to get inside, but Naruto had locked the windows. Naruto opened the window for the woman and Kakashi ordered her to find Obito. Naruto waited for the woman to vanish before turning back to Kakashi. Before Kakashi had a chance to speak, someone knocked on the door, interrupting the moment of peace. Naruto focused on the chakra signature and he suddenly felt queasy. Kakashi told the person to enter and Hinata immediately found Naruto struggling to wiggle his way out of the open window. Naruto stopped, realizing that he couldn't squeeze through the jammed window, then he sighed and went back toward the desk. Hinata tried to touch his shoulder, but he narrowed his eyes at her. He saw her heart breaking, her emotions clear in her eyes, but that wasn't his Hinata. He needed Obito, not some genjutsu wife and a toddler clone. 

"Naruto," Hinata said, her voice soft, fragile. "What's wrong? Something isn't right." Hinata directed the last words at Kakashi and the man seemed to agree. When the office door opened again, Obito entered. Hinata seemed entirely confused then, so she looked between everyone present. 

"You wanted Obito," Kakashi said, motioning to the Uchiha. Naruto nodded, then he rushed over to Obito and dragged the man into a hug, shocking everyone. "I didn't realize you were so close," Kakashi managed to say, exchanging a look with Obito.

"Not that I don't like hugs, but this is unexpected. You've never tried hugging me before. Do you have a fever? What's going on?" Obito pressed a palm to Naruto's forehead, but Naruto stumbled back a few steps, breaking the contact. That wasn't his Obito. He spent a few minutes just staring at them, noticing subtle differences in how they held themselves. "Naruto?"

Naruto turned toward the windows lining the wall behind Kakashi's desk. The village was beautiful. The people had been friendly. And he was married; he had a kid. He looked at Obito, silently begging the man to remember their time together, to remember their journey to prevent the war, but the message was lost. Kakashi walked around the desk and rested a hand atop Naruto's shoulder. There was nothing but concern there, a softness that shook Naruto. He knew that Obito was responsible for that. Obito still had a way with people. Hinata stood to the side, nervously playing with her fingers, as if she were still a nervous wreck around him. 

"Maybe Sasuke might know something," Obito suggested, scratching his head. He shrugged then, but Kakashi caught his eye and nodded. "I'll go find him. Hang on." Obito disappeared, leaving the three alone. Hinata took a step toward Naruto, so Naruto took a step away.

"When did this start?" Kakashi addressed Hinata then, cutting Naruto out of the conversation. He didn't even care. He didn't care that they talked over him and around him, that they treated him as if he'd finally lost his mind. "Just this morning?" Hinata nodded, so Kakashi sighed. "Such a pain."

"Try waking up naked in a strange place, surrounded by people who should be dead, then tell me how much of a pain it is," Naruto remarked, frowning. Kakashi blinked at him, then felt his forehead, just as Obito had done only minutes ago. "I don't have a fever. I didn't hit my head. Your husband and I just spent weeks hunting the Akatsuki. We were close to stopping them, but he chose the rinnegan over me, then he left, in the middle of the night, because I don't matter anymore, and clearly I can save the world on my own! He's such a stubborn bastard and I don't know why I," Naruto suddenly stopped, mouth snapping closed. Hinata had been leaning in, focusing on his words, so she leaned back, startled at the sudden silence. 

"The Akatsuki is gone. The war ended six years ago, Naruto. You never went on that mission with Obito. That never happened," Kakashi said, completely lost. The door opened and Obito stepped aside to let Sasuke into the room first. "He thinks he went on a mission to stop the Akatsuki with you," Kakashi said, eyes shifting from Naruto to Obito. The two seemed to have some silent conversation, then Kakashi motioned to the door. "Hinata, Obito, if you'll follow me." 

Once the door closed behind the three, Naruto waited for the ANBU to depart, then he lowered his eyes to the ground and waited for Sasuke to tear into him; instead, Sasuke remained quiet. Naruto had to make sure the man hadn't left too. Sasuke found something interesting on the far wall, so Naruto sighed, trying to gain Sasuke's attention. When that failed, Naruto cleared his throat. Sasuke took in Naruto's attire and raised a brow, leaving Naruto blushing. He felt like a complete idiot, but he'd panicked. 

"So I guess you're going to tell me Hinata is my wife and I've got a kid and responsibilities, and I should get my shit together?"

"I understand."

"You do?"

"You wake up and realize the life you have just isn't for you. You ask yourself how it could have happened, how you could have let yourself fall into such a rut. We aren't getting any younger," Sasuke said, seeming awkward even talking about it. Naruto nodded, because he understood, because that summed it up really well. He'd been dragged into some nightmare world. He didn't like Hinata. He didn't want kids. "Come on. I'll help you get some clothes." Without waiting for a response, Sasuke turned and left the room. Naruto scrambled after him.

People gave them odd looks, every person focused on Naruto's makeshift skirt. He thought that people would have focused on Sasuke, but they seemed perfectly fine with the reformed criminal. Sasuke looked older, but so did Naruto. They were twenty-three, if Naruto did the math properly. Naruto had expected more than a housewife and a child. Naruto bit down on his lower lip, teeth digging into the sensitive flesh. Beside him, Sasuke didn't seem to notice Naruto's blatant staring. Naruto thought that he might have ended up with Sasuke, had their lives gone differently, had the war not destroyed them. That would have been a fine life. He would have been with his best friend. Instead, he'd married a woman he didn't love and fathered a child he didn't want. Naruto sighed and finally looked away. They continued at an easy pace, so the silence settled between them, broken up by quick greetings and side conversations between villagers. 

"This isn't the first time you've reacted this way, dobe," Sasuke said, turning down the street that led to Naruto's home. Naruto eyed the home, suddenly finding it repulsive. That wasn't his style at all. The home was all Hinata.

"So I do this often? Am I sick or something?"

"Sakura thinks it has something to do with the war. When you died, your brain was without oxygen. You've had memory problems since."

"How did it end up like this, Sasuke? This," Naruto trailed off, stopping just outside of the home, "this isn't me. This isn't what I wanted out of life. I wanted to be Hokage. I wanted to tell you." Naruto stopped, because he saw movement in the window. The front door jerked open and Hinata stood in the doorway, looking as if she'd spent the whole time crying. Naruto couldn't stand seeing her that way. 

"We came for some clothes," Sasuke explained, following Hinata into the home. Naruto entered last, so he closed the door behind himself.

"Naruto," Hinata tried, her shoulders shaking for tears she fought off, "please stay. I love you."

"I can't. I just need some time, at least. I don't know how you can love me when you barely know me. We were never that close. You stalked me, when we were kids," Naruto frowned, stepping away from her reaching hands. Sasuke took Naruto's right arm and dragged Naruto from the front hall, leading the way toward the staircase. "Thanks," Naruto mumbled.

"I never liked her," Sasuke replied, words spoken so Hinata could hear them. Naruto cringed. He heard a door slam from somewhere downstairs, but he focused on climbing the stairs. He saw the room down the hall, then that little toddler peered out again, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. "His name is Boruto. He's your son. Sakura and Hinata usually arrange playdates for our children. My daughter is Sarada."

"You have a kid with Sakura? So you must be together then," Naruto said, words gradually growing softer. Sasuke gave him an odd look, one brow raised as if in a silent question. Naruto chuckled, just to fill the space between them. Sasuke opened the bedroom door and entered into the room, but Naruto stayed in the hallway, eyes locked on Boruto.

"Dad," the little boy said, pointing at Naruto. Naruto felt his chest constrict. The world had built a life for him, and he began to question whether everything with Obito had been a dream. Maybe it was reality. "Dad!" Boruto hurried down the hallway and crashed into Naruto's legs, clinging to the man. Boruto peered up at him, suddenly all smiles. 

"Hey," Naruto greeted, reaching down to smooth out the boy's spiky hair. They looked so much alike. Boruto looked so alive; everything about the world was vivid, very lifelike. "Yeah. Dad," he said, stooping down to pull Boruto into a hug. Sasuke stood in the bedroom doorway, watching the exchange, then he motioned toward the bedroom. Naruto kissed Boruto on the forehead, then the toddler ran off again, wobbling every now and then. "Have you ever wondered if this was all one big genjutsu world? What if we lost the fight against Kaguya?"

"Why?" Sasuke began rifling through drawers, then he walked over to the closet and began sorting through the hangers. Sasuke pulled out an orange shirt and black pants, so Naruto turned his back to Sasuke and changed into the clothes. He had to go find his own boxers, which shared a drawer with Hinata's underwear, which made him uncomfortable. He took extra care not to touch her things. "Dobe," Sasuke said, reminding Naruto that he had asked a question.

"I don't love Hinata. I don't want to be married to her. I didn't want kids. I, well, I had feelings for you," Naruto confessed, rubbing the back of his head. He looked up from the floor, searching for something in Sasuke's blank expression. "Say something, teme!"

"Had?"

"Have?"

"Is it 'had' or 'have'?"

"You died. I never got to tell you, and then it was just Obito and me. I don't know," Naruto admitted, confusion and irritation written all over his face. Sasuke took a seat on the bed, so Naruto joined him. He dumped the sheets onto the bed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I should have said something, but there was never a right time. And then there was never a right time with Obito," Naruto mumbled. 

"You have feelings for Obito?" Sasuke scowled at the man's name, then his expression smoothed out, as if he hadn't communicated his own disgust at the thought. Naruto nodded, unable to do much more. "You lost your chance. It's too late."

"Why is it always too late for me?" Naruto rested his hands on the bed, palms sinking into the mattress. Sasuke reached over and poked Naruto's forehead. "So I just stay in this loveless marriage? That's it for me?"

"No. You wake up, dobe," Sasuke said, a small smile on his face. Naruto squinted at him. Naruto wondered if he'd heard Sasuke. "Wake up," Sasuke repeated.

Naruto jerked awake, his heart pounding in his chest. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He'd left the television on, so he saw flashing lights and shadows all around the room. Without Obito, he hadn't felt secure. He needed the light and low sound to help him fall asleep. Just to make sure, Naruto stretched out an arm and felt along his right side. Obito wasn't there. Any check of the inn would have proved the same. The man wasn't there, hadn't been there, and Naruto felt his absence. He swiped the back of his right hand over his forehead, wiping the sweat from his skin, then he kicked off his blankets. The dream had felt so real, everything about it leaving him restless. He knew not to go back to sleep; he knew he would fall right back into that world. Seeing Sasuke had hurt. Seeing Obito had hurt. In that dream, no one had died, and he longed for a reality like that. The only man who understood him was gone, lost on the road of life. 

Naruto dozed off again and woke up to sunlight shining on his face. He lifted his head, tugged his pillow free, then covered his head with the fluffy pillow. He managed another hour of sleep before someone eventually started pounding on the door to his room. It was his first day in Konoha, so he should have been up with the sun, but he'd chosen to wallow and cling to sleep. When the pounding grew louder, Naruto threw his pillow across the room and jumped out of bed. He stomped his way to the front door and slammed it open. He'd expected Hidan, but he found Kakashi. Kakashi lowered his orange book and openly stared at Naruto. 

"Shit," Naruto swore, forgetting the henge. Kakashi wedged his foot between the frame and the door, preventing Naruto from slamming the door in his face. Naruto tried for a solid minute, then he gave up and threw the door open. "Get in here already," Naruto grumbled, stepping back so Kakashi could slip into the room. 

"I think I'd like for you to explain why it is you look like the Yondaime Hokage," Kakashi began, book tucked away in his pouch. Naruto scratched at his head, then tried to smooth out his blonde hair. Kakashi waited, allowing him to stall.

"Coincidence?"

"It's in the form of a question. Try again."

"I'm actually Naruto, but from the future. My friend and I traveled back in time to prevent the Fourth Shinobi War and stop the moon goddess from descending on us and slaughtering all of our people. My friend is currently missing in action, but I have three former Akatsuki members aiding me on this quest. I was hoping you'd be interested in helping too, Kakashi." Naruto honestly thought that the man would body flicker out of the room and escape the crazed rambling, but Kakashi simply stared at him, as if waiting for something more. "I'm meeting with the Hokage at noon. I'd like for you to be there. Noon, not hours later. I'm not above hunting you down."

"You're serious," Kakashi said, as if he'd been expecting a joke, some sort of punchline. Naruto nodded. "You're Naruto," Kakashi continued, earning another nod, "and you're from the future." Naruto let out a frustrated sigh, but he nodded again. 

"It's a really long story and I'd rather not get into it right now. It's seven in the morning," Naruto spoke, a large yawn following the words. Naruto checked the clock, just to be sure, and it was ten after seven, the wall clock still ticking away. Kakashi moved his hitai-ate, revealing the sharingan eye, then he took a moment to study Naruto, looking for a genjutsu that wasn't there. "I'm Naruto," Naruto frowned, motioning toward himself.

Bewildered, Kakashi took a step back, followed quickly by another step. He moved his hitai-ate back over his left eye and just stared at Naruto, right eye moving over blonde hair and flawless cheeks. Naruto shifted under the man's gaze, then he yawned again. Kakashi turned to go, but Naruto darted forward and grabbed Kakashi's arm. Kakashi elbowed Naruto, so Naruto kicked the back of Kakashi's right leg. The man spun around, spinning on his left leg.

"We can spar later. Sit down. I'm sure I can get some coffee. If you think about running away, like you're good for doing, I'm going to hunt you down. It's too early. Please just sit down."

"How?"

"I'd rather just wait for my meeting with Jiji. We got in pretty late and I had a bad night."

"'We'?"

Kakashi walked over to the room's lone table and pulled one of the chairs out, then he fell into the seat. Leaning forward, Kakashi scrubbed his hands over his face. He looked a lot older than twenty-six, but Naruto remembered him at thirty-three, after the pressure of being thrust into the Hokage role. Naruto went over to the phone and requested coffee and two bowls of oatmeal. He assumed Kakashi wouldn't want ramen, if the man even wanted to eat. Naruto let the question hang in the air, toying with the idea of not answering, perhaps lying, but one look at Kakashi caused an ache in his chest. Kakashi deserved a lot, at least a lot better than a psychotic ex-teammate. Naruto waited until the coffee and oatmeal arrived, then he handed a cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal to Kakashi. They sat at the table and ate the food, then they sipped on their coffee. Naruto had long ago rid himself of the desire to see Kakashi's face, so he kept his eyes on his bowl, then his cup. 

"The former members of the group, Konan, Hidan, and Kakuzu, came with me to Konoha. I'm surprised you aren't watching over them. Are you a sensei yet?" Naruto looked up to find Kakashi staring into his empty coffee cup. "I guess you probably can't answer if you're still in ANBU, huh?" Naruto licked his lips, savoring the lingering taste of coffee.

"I failed a team two weeks ago," Kakashi informed him, no hesitation at all. Naruto nodded, the awkward atmosphere causing him to slouch in his seat. Kakashi rested his forearms atop the table and hung his head. "Fourth war, huh?"

"It won't happen."

"You're what, seventeen? You're going to stop a war?"

"I'm nineteen, and I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Yes, I'm going to prevent a war. It helps that I'm not alone. It would be great if you would help too. You're really important," Naruto admitted, thinking of Tobi. Naruto had gotten through to Tobi once before, but the relationship between Obito and Kakashi had revealed a lot about the two. It might have been unusual, inconvenient, and codependent in nature, but they'd both grown from it. "You're Kakashi, you know? You're almost invincible. You're the Copycat nin!"

"Are you honestly showering me in compliments to try to get me to help you?" Kakashi waited for Naruto to nod, then Kakashi snorted and shook his head. "I'm not invincible," Kakashi replied, sidestepping the request. Kakashi nudged his coffee cup toward the center of the table, then he pushed his chair away from the table and got to his feet. 

"Damn it, Kakashi, this is really important!"

"I'm busy."

"Then I'll make sure your schedule is cleared! Don't play with me. I'm not as stupid as people seem to assume! I'll go right over your head."

"Hm. I don't know who you think I am, but that's not me," Kakashi replied, easily leaving Naruto there. Naruto stared at the spot where the man had been, a deep frown in place. He'd considered bringing up Obito, but he knew the man would have crumbled. Kakashi was on the edge, had been for years. Seeing Obito beneath that mask had broken the dam. 

Naruto finished off his coffee and lay his head down on the table. He had a feeling Kakashi wasn't going to make the meeting with the Hokage. Kakashi wasn't ready, and maybe he never would be ready, but Naruto wasn't ready either. He needed Obito to believe in him. Again, Naruto felt the man's absence. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to slip back into his dream, to picture Sasuke's smile. Darkness greeted him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't post this update. I'm in the middle of an eight-day stretch at work and it's killing me. Haven't had much time to write. :(
> 
> This is a big middle finger to canon. Oops?

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, if it weren't for my friend, I think this fic might have died in my google drive. I don't like to post unfinished works, but I made an exception with Three Days, so I'm making an exception with this. I don't know how long this will be. I have chapters, but I guess it depends on interest. The first chapter could stand alone, if no one is interested. :)


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